Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Trading Down 8.5% – Should You Sell?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Free Report) dropped 8.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $35.98 and last traded at $36.3160. Approximately 2,205,606 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 191% from the average daily volume of 758,580 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PLAB. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Singular Research raised Photronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.50.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PLAB

Photronics Trading Down 8.7%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.70 and a 200-day moving average of $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.54.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $215.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.54 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.06%.Photronics’s revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, Director Mary Paladino sold 42,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $1,026,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $811,152. The trade was a 55.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.04, for a total value of $125,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 51,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,252.08. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 67,750 shares of company stock worth $1,629,700 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,649,000. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in Photronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,006,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,042,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 233,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,359,000 after acquiring an additional 129,152 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Photronics

(Get Free Report)

Photronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates.

See Also