Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 104,925 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 385,150 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 104,925 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Photronics were worth $12,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at about $634,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Photronics by 104.6% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Photronics by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 52,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 15,910 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Photronics by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 63,252 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Photronics by 39.7% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 142,520 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 40,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO George Macricostas sold 121,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.94, for a total transaction of $5,204,070.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 334,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,344,879.92. This represents a 26.62% 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, CFO Eric Rivera sold 41,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $1,826,748.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,991,612. This trade represents a 23.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

PLAB stock opened at $28.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.83 and a 200-day moving average of $37.81. Photronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $209.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.47 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.69% and a net margin of 18.47%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Photronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.390-0.450 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PLAB. Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Lake Street Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Photronics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

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.