Lake Street Capital Begins Coverage on Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Equities research analysts at Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock. Lake Street Capital’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.58% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Photronics Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ PLAB opened at $36.34 on Friday. Photronics has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $45.40. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.39.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $225.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.09 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 15.83%.Photronics’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.70, for a total value of $252,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 81,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,754,975. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director owned 410,850 shares in the company, valued at $14,022,310.50. This represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 87,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,994,638. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $52,914,000 after buying an additional 2,017,052 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Photronics by 395.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,588 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position 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 worth $19,883,000 after purchasing an additional 594,446 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in Photronics by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $92,271,000 after purchasing an additional 370,489 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Photronics during the third quarter worth about $8,416,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.