Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stock Price Down 7.6% Following Insider Selling

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) dropped 7.6% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $32.64 and last traded at $32.2070. Approximately 291,134 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,116,029 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.86.

Specifically, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.21, for a total value of $176,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,036.79. This represents a 10.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Paladino sold 11,250 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $394,987.50. Following the sale, the director owned 23,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,320.20. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In related news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.90, for a total value of $339,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 465,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,792,315. This represents a 2.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Photronics Trading Up 4.9%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 1.52.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $215.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.54 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.06%.Photronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 699.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,052 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Photronics by 17.2% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,607,874 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,106,000 after acquiring an additional 383,355 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in Photronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,416,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 123.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 233,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,359,000 after acquiring an additional 129,152 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,306,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,425,000 after acquiring an additional 109,909 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc is a leading global supplier of photomask products used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, flat panel displays, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and advanced packaging applications. Photomasks, also known as reticles, are critical templates that carry the precise circuit patterns required for semiconductor lithography processes. The company offers a comprehensive range of mask solutions, including binary masks, attenuated phase-shift masks, reticles for micro-optics, and specialized products for high‐resolution applications.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Brookfield, Connecticut, Photronics has grown through organic expansion and strategic investments in high‐end lithography technology.