Photronics, Inc. $PLAB Shares Acquired by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 323.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 50,036 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,209 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Photronics were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Photronics by 336.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Photronics by 424.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Photronics by 24.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 32.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,595 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.13, for a total transaction of $341,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 410,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,022,310.50. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mary Paladino sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $394,987.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,820 shares in the company, valued at approximately $836,320.20. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 181,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,150 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of PLAB stock opened at $34.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.61. Photronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.46 and a twelve month high of $39.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 1.52.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced 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. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.06%.The firm had revenue of $215.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.