Why Photronics Shares Got Crushed

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Photronics have gotten crushed today, down by as much as 11% after the company reported earnings.

So what: Revenue in the fiscal second quarter totaled $106.7 million, down 9% from a year ago and below the $108.5 million consensus estimate. That also led to a bottom-line miss, with Photronics posting earnings per share of $0.08, near the lower end of guidance and also shy of the $0.09-per-share profit that investors were expecting.

Now what: CEO Constantine Macricostas acknowledged that the company saw weakness at a "key Asian foundry customer," and flat panel orders came in as expected. Photronics hopes conditions to improve in the coming quarters, particularly within its high-end equipment deployments. High-end IC photomask sales were encouraging, up 31% sequentially.

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The article Why Photronics Shares Got Crushed originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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