Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Photronics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Photronics stock opened at $38.10 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.50. Photronics has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $39.80. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.52.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released 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 firm had revenue of $215.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.54 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.06%.Photronics’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 6,250 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.89, for a total transaction of $218,062.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,195. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.21, for a total transaction of $176,050.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,199 shares in the company, valued at $1,521,036.79. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLAB. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Photronics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,271,000 after purchasing an additional 370,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $55,361,000 after buying an additional 106,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,017,052 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Photronics by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,042 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,555,000 after buying an additional 26,507 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 837,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,331,000 after acquiring an additional 10,724 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.