Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Down 8% – What’s Next?

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares dropped 8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $47.82 and last traded at $47.2820. Approximately 258,045 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,074,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLAB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Photronics in a research note on Friday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $46.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

Photronics Stock Up 3.6%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.11 and a 200 day moving average of $33.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 1.43.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.07. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 15.83%.The business had revenue of $225.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.35, for a total value of $2,267,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $918,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 355,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,340,632. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,226,588 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in Photronics in the first quarter valued at about $47,902,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 594,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Photronics by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $92,271,000 after buying an additional 370,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.