Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Buys 33,490 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 6.2%, now owning 575,450 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million.
• Photronics reported an EPS of $0.40 for the last quarter, missing estimates of $0.48, and had revenues of $210.99 million, slightly below expectations.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and Barclays, have recently adjusted their positions in Photronics, reflecting growing interest in the company.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 575,450 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,490 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.91% of Photronics worth $11,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $66,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $110,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 36.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 11.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In related news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 4,882 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total value of $89,584.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 532,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,764,035. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 29,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $595,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 459,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,284,384.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,382 shares of company stock valued at $985,035 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PLAB. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Photronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reduced 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of Photronics stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.89. The company had a trading volume of 265,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 628,114. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $20.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $31.60.

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

Photronics Company 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.