Virtu Financial LLC Purchases New Shares in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,545 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $785,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $92,271,000 after buying an additional 370,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Photronics by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $55,361,000 after acquiring an additional 106,069 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Photronics by 699.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Photronics by 395.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Photronics by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,023,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $32,761,000 after acquiring an additional 33,573 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other Photronics news, CAO Rui Zhang sold 4,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $212,765.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,264,589.30. The trade was a 14.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.35, for a total transaction of $2,267,500.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 326,144 shares of company stock worth $14,313,759. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Photronics Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $34.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.36. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.37. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.00 and a 12-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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.11). Photronics had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The business had revenue of $209.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.390-0.450 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PLAB. Zacks Research cut Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Photronics Company Profile

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.