Photronics, Inc. $PLAB Stock Position Decreased by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its holdings in Photronics, Inc. by 40.9%, selling 34,985 shares and retaining 50,455 shares valued at approximately $1,047,000.
• Insider trading reports indicate that Director David A. Garcia purchased 2,650 shares of Photronics, increasing his stake by 35.11%, while another director sold 15,000 shares, marking a 20.85% reduction in ownership.
• Photronics reported earnings of $0.51 per share, exceeding estimates, though revenues declined slightly year-over-year; analysts predict an average annual EPS of 2.3 for the company.

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 40.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,455 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 34,985 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.08% of Photronics worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $110,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 36.1% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its stake in Photronics by 11.9% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 9,400 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Photronics during the first quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PLAB. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Singular Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price on the stock. One equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $31.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 15,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on 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 $2,266,000. The trade was a 12.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Garcia purchased 2,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $193,762. This trade represents a 35.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 74,382 shares of company stock worth $1,534,335 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Photronics Price Performance

Photronics stock traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $22.79. 564,822 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 685,007. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.86.

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

Photronics Profile

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.