Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $49.33.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Photronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kang Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.70, for a total value of $297,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 354,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,539,045. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Park sold 9,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $288,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 66,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,004,420. This trade represents a 12.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,114,265. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Photronics during the second quarter valued at $308,586,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics during the second quarter valued at $12,374,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Photronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,355,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Photronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,843,000. Finally, Meros Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Photronics in the 2nd quarter worth about $7,728,055. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

PLAB opened at $27.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.32. Photronics has a 1 year low of $20.05 and a 1 year high of $56.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.10. Photronics had a net margin of 19.05% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The company had revenue of $216.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $208.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Photronics’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.400-0.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 1.90 EPS for the current year.

About Photronics

Photronics, Inc (NASDAQ: PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, also known as photolithography masks, used in the production of semiconductors and flat-panel displays. Its products contain the patterns that are transferred onto silicon wafers or display substrates during the manufacturing process.

The company supplies photomasks for integrated circuits, including products used in advanced logic, memory, and other semiconductor applications. It also produces photomasks for flat-panel displays used in products such as televisions, monitors, smartphones, and other electronic devices.