AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 13.7%, now holding a position worth approximately $7.72 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Corporate insiders, including directors, have sold a total of 74,382 shares of Photronics stock in recent months, indicating some level of insider activity in the company.
• Photronics reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a market capitalization of $1.37 billion and a current average target price of $31.00 from analysts.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 371,815 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,764 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Photronics worth $7,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Photronics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Photronics by 36.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in Photronics by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 9,400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Price Performance

NASDAQ PLAB traded up $0.28 on Monday, hitting $22.81. The company had a trading volume of 439,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 635,118. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.53. The company's fifty day moving average price is $20.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.86. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.12. Photronics had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.51 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.420-0.480 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on PLAB shares. Singular Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Photronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 103,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,266,000. This represents a 12.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total transaction of $219,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 200,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,960.63. This trade represents a 4.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,534,335 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

About Photronics

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.