Photronics, Inc. $PLAB Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,635 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,794 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.20% of Photronics worth $2,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Photronics by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,306,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,425,000 after purchasing an additional 109,909 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Photronics by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,042 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,555,000 after purchasing an additional 26,507 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 826,718 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,706,000 after purchasing an additional 23,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 3.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 435,223 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,195,000 after buying an additional 15,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PLAB shares. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Photronics news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.89, for a total value of $218,062.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,634,195. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.13, for a total value of $341,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Photronics Price Performance

Photronics stock opened at $37.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.52. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $39.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.04 and its 200-day moving average is $26.12.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Photronics 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.