Comerica Bank Lowers Holdings in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Comerica Bank trimmed its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 35.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 29,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 16,220 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Photronics were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 699.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,052 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Photronics in the third quarter worth approximately $8,416,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Photronics by 123.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 233,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,359,000 after acquiring an additional 129,152 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 4.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,361,000 after acquiring an additional 106,069 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Photronics by 21.4% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 597,819 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,720,000 after acquiring an additional 105,389 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Photronics Stock Up 6.5%

PLAB opened at $53.64 on Friday. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.59 and a 52 week high of $53.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 1.51.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $918,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 355,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,340,632. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Macricostas sold 121,194 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.94, for a total value of $5,204,070.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 334,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,344,879.92. This trade represents a 26.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759. Corporate insiders own 3.30% 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.