Zacks Research Downgrades Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) to Hold

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

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

Photronics Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $38.10 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.50. Photronics has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $39.80. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.52.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.13, for a total transaction of $341,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 410,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,022,310.50. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.89, for a total transaction of $218,062.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,195. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150 over the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 201.3% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 62,556 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 41,791 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Photronics by 2.9% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 826,718 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,706,000 after acquiring an additional 23,037 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Photronics by 323.1% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 50,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 38,209 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Photronics in the third quarter worth about $864,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in Photronics by 17.2% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,607,874 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,106,000 after acquiring an additional 383,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.