Photronics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 5,920 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 194% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,016 call options.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $43.57 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.77. Photronics has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $45.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03 and a beta of 1.52.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $225.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.09 million. Photronics had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Photronics news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 13,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.99, for a total value of $522,362.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 89,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,390,607.50. This represents a 13.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary Paladino sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $394,987.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,820 shares in the company, valued at $836,320.20. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. LSV Asset Management raised its position in Photronics by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,271,000 after acquiring an additional 370,489 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Photronics by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $55,361,000 after buying an additional 106,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,052 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 1.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,888,042 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $35,555,000 after acquiring an additional 26,507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 395.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,588 shares during the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Photronics News

Here are the key news stories impacting Photronics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue, signaling better-than-expected demand and margin performance; investors often reward beats with rallies. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Company reported record high-end IC revenue, a datapoint investors see as validating exposure to stronger semiconductor/IC demand segments. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying (about 5,920 calls, +194% vs. average) indicates short-term bullish positioning by traders and likely amplified the intraday move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance of $0.490–0.550 EPS and revenue $212–220M is broadly in line with consensus on EPS but the revenue midpoint is slightly below Wall Street’s view — this tempers the upside and sets expectations for Q2. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media coverage framed today’s move as a reaction to the beat + positioning, but several outlets cautioned investors that upside may slow if Q2 results don’t outpace conservative guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Although Q1 beat, the revenue guidance range and conservative tone introduce downside risk if customers slow orders in the next quarter — investors may reprice the stock if Q2 results miss the top end of the guided range. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PLAB shares. Zacks Research lowered Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their price objective on Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.50.

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.