Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.50.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PLAB shares. Zacks Research lowered Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.13, for a total value of $341,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 410,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,022,310.50. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 6,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.89, for a total value of $218,062.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 75,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,195. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 699.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after buying an additional 2,017,052 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 2,201.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 621,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,883,000 after acquiring an additional 594,446 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Photronics by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,607,874 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,106,000 after acquiring an additional 383,355 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,416,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at $11,540,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB opened at $37.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.11. Photronics has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $39.80.

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 net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.