Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.00 and last traded at $54.96, with a volume of 897817 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Photronics Trading Down 0.2%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.21. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, COO Hsueh-Chun Wang sold 19,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total value of $872,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,560 shares in the company, valued at $5,144,268. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO George Macricostas sold 121,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.94, for a total transaction of $5,204,070.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 334,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,344,879.92. This represents a 26.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 346,144 shares of company stock worth $15,061,759. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management increased 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 worth $92,271,000 after buying an additional 370,489 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Photronics by 4.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,361,000 after buying an additional 106,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Photronics by 699.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after buying an additional 2,017,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Photronics by 395.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,164,000 after buying an additional 1,226,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Photronics during the first quarter worth approximately $47,902,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.