Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on PLAB. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Photronics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Photronics Trading Down 4.9%

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $32.35 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.16. The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.51. Photronics has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $56.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.11). Photronics had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 18.47%.The business had revenue of $209.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Photronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.390-0.450 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Photronics will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other Photronics news, CAO Rui Zhang sold 4,556 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $212,765.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,264,589.30. This trade represents a 14.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Eric Rivera sold 1,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $44,770.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,096,465.21. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 673.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 569.8% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,353 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Key Photronics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Photronics this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Photronics reported weaker-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue, prompting a sharp selloff. Photronics Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 guidance also missed consensus, signaling near-term pressure on demand and margins. Why Is Photronics Stock Falling Friday?
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms announced investigations into possible securities-law violations, creating an additional headline risk for shareholders. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Photronics, Inc. (PLAB) Announced

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.