NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Sells 25,647 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 36.0% during the second quarter, selling 25,647 shares and holding 45,534 shares valued at approximately $923,000.
• Several hedge funds, including American Century Companies Inc., Nuveen LLC, and Invesco Ltd., increased their holdings in Photronics, reflecting growing institutional interest with 88.38% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Photronics reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' consensus estimate of $0.39, and set a Q4 2025 EPS guidance of $0.420-0.480.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC cut its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,534 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 25,647 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC owned 0.08% of Photronics worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 16.1% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 204,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 28,345 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Photronics during the first quarter worth approximately $648,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 6.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,441 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 14.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 96,752 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,009,000 after purchasing an additional 12,159 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 29,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total value of $595,900.00. Following the transaction, the director 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $193,762. This represents a 35.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 69,500 shares of company stock worth $1,444,750 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Singular Research raised shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Photronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Photronics has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Photronics Stock Down 0.2%

PLAB traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.94. 2,740,091 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 794,730. The stock's 50-day moving average is $21.30 and its 200 day moving average is $19.98. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $31.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.53.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $204.30 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.420-0.480 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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.