Phototronics (PLAB) Upgraded to Buy from Hold at Needham

In a report published Thursday, Needham analysts upgraded their rating on Phototronics, Inc (PLAB) to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’. The research firm also raised its price target on the stock to $12 from $10 a share, citing ongoing cost synergies as a possible way to stimulate EPS growth.

Needham’s new PT represents a potential upside of 40% from ticker’s Wednesday close.

From a valuation-measure perspective ; PLAB currently has a trailing-12 P/E of 18.96, a forward P/E of 15.83 and a P/E to growth ratio of 2.11. Price/Sales t12 ratio is at 1.24 while EPS for the same period registers at $0.45. The company has a market cap of $527.45 million and a median Wall Street price target of $11.50 with a high target of $12.00. Currently there are 2 analysts that rate PLAB a ‘Strong Buy’, 1 rate it a ‘Buy’, 1 rate it a ‘Hold’, 1 rates it ‘Underperform’ and 0 rates it a ‘Sell’.

Profitability-wise, Phototronics t-12 profit margin currently stands at 6.71% while operating ones are at 6.72%. The company reported $192 million in cash vs. $169 million in debt in its most recent quarter.

PLAB is up 4% pre-market at $8.90, within a 52-week range of $7.03 to $9.75. The stock has gained 13.55% over the last 52 weeks, and lost almost 5% year-to-date.

The chart below shows where the equity has traded over the last 52 weeks, with the 50-day and 200-day MAs included.

Photronics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells photomasks in the United States. It also operates in Korea, Taiwan, Europe, and internationally. PLAB was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Brookfield, Connecticut.

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