Royce & Associates LP Sells 79,646 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 384,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 79,646 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.65% of Photronics worth $8,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Photronics by 673.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 336.4% in the second 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. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Photronics by 424.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,363 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,767 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Photronics by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Trading Down 4.5%

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $35.26 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.50. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $45.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.07. Photronics had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 7.88%. The company had revenue of $225.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Photronics’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, Director Mary Paladino sold 11,250 shares of the company’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 sale, the director directly owned 23,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $836,320.20. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 6,250 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.89, for a total transaction of $218,062.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,195. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,250 shares of company stock worth $6,091,950. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLAB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.50.

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.