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

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PLAB. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Photronics has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Photronics Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $52.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.37 and a 200-day moving average of $35.40. Photronics has a 1-year low of $16.59 and a 1-year high of $56.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 1.51.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $225.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.09 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Photronics’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other Photronics news, COO Hsueh-Chun Wang sold 19,250 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total transaction of $872,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 113,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,144,268. The trade was a 14.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $918,400.00. Following the sale, the director owned 355,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,340,632. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 346,144 shares of company stock worth $15,061,759 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Photronics by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $92,271,000 after acquiring an additional 370,489 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Photronics by 4.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 106,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,017,052 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 395.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,588 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics in the first quarter worth $47,902,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.