Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $36.32 and last traded at $37.1220, with a volume of 1897880 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.69.

The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.13. Photronics had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 12.67%.The company had revenue of $215.77 million during 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. Photronics’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PLAB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Singular Research upgraded Photronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other Photronics news, Director Mary Paladino sold 42,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $1,026,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 33,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $811,152. This represents a 55.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total transaction of $225,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 190,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,292,109.32. This represents a 4.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,629,700. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Photronics in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 673.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Photronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Photronics during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Photronics Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.44. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 1.54.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates.