SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Sept. 17, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) - First Security Van Kasper semiconductor analyst Susan R. Crossley today raised her 12-month price target to $36 from $31, maintaining her BUY rating on Photronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLAB).
Photronics, a leading supplier of photomasks to the semiconductor industry, yesterday announced an agreement to merge with competitive supplier Align-Rite (Nasdaq:MASK) in a deal that could create the world's largest photomask manufacturer. The company will be presenting at First Security Van Kasper's Growth Stock Conference, "Companies for the New Millennium," October 4-5, 1999 in San Francisco.
"The merger makes sense in several ways," said Crossley. "The deal should be immediately accretive to earnings, with size being a definite advantage in the capital-intensive photomask business. Furthermore, Align-Rite's facilities offer a timely addition to Photronics' cutting-edge capacity."
First Security Van Kasper, founded in 1978, is an investment banking, private client and institutional brokerage firm with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Fresno, Walnut Creek, Sacramento, San Diego and Newport Beach, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the company became a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based First Security Corporation (Nasdaq:FSCO), the second largest independent bank holding company in the West, with more than $20 billion in assets.
First Security Van Kasper is ranked among the top West Coast firms in terms of number of transactions and total dollars raised in public offerings of common stock, convertible securities, and fixed-income instruments. The firm also places securities privately, advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions and performs valuation services. Through its investment management subsidiary, Van Kasper Advisors, the company manages assets for corporations, retirement plans, trusts, fiduciaries, financial institutions and individuals. For more information about First Security Van Kasper, the upcoming or growth stock conference, please visit the company's Web site at www.fsvk.com.