Royce & Associates LP Sells 79,646 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 17.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 79,646 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Photronics were worth $8,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 673.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 336.4% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Photronics by 424.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 6,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Photronics by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Photronics Trading Down 4.5%

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $35.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.28. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $45.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.07. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 15.83%.The firm had revenue of $225.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other Photronics news, Director Mary Paladino sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $394,987.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $836,320.20. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.78, for a total transaction of $894,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 165,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,845.98. The trade was a 13.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 171,250 shares of company stock worth $6,091,950 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLAB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

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.