IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Makes New Investment in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 20,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Photronics by 30.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 219,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,553,000 after buying an additional 50,707 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,647 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 96,752 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,009,000 after acquiring an additional 12,159 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 24.7% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,765 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 4,114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other Photronics news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 13,750 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total value of $522,362.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 89,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,390,607.50. The trade was a 13.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $894,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 165,591 shares in the company, valued at $5,924,845.98. This trade represents a 13.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $37.24 on Friday. Photronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.46 and a fifty-two week high of $39.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PLAB. Zacks Research raised shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Craig Hallum lifted their price target on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Photronics 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.