Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

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

Photronics Trading Up 3.4%

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $31.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.83. Photronics has a twelve month low of $18.00 and a twelve month high of $56.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $209.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.47 million. Photronics had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. Photronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.390-0.450 EPS.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other Photronics news, COO Hsueh-Chun Wang sold 19,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total value of $872,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,560 shares in the company, valued at $5,144,268. The trade was a 14.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Macricostas sold 121,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.94, for a total transaction of $5,204,070.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 334,068 shares in the company, valued at $14,344,879.92. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 346,144 shares of company stock worth $15,061,759 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Photronics by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Photronics by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,624 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Photronics by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Photronics by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kendall Capital Management increased its position in shares of Photronics by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 46,385 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.