Hodges Capital Management Inc. Sells 139,030 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. sold 65.9% of its stake in Photronics, Inc., reducing its holdings to approximately 71,945 shares worth $1.49 million, following the sale of 139,030 shares in the first quarter.
• Photronics reported a Q3 2023 earnings of $0.51 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.39, while the company forecasts a Q4 2025 EPS guidance of 0.420-0.480.
• The stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, including a "strong-buy" rating by Singular Research, with an average price target of $31.00 according to MarketBeat.com.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 65.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,945 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 139,030 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Photronics worth $1,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics during the first quarter worth about $648,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Photronics by 45.6% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 24,027 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 7,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Photronics by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,647 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of Photronics stock traded up $1.27 on Thursday, reaching $24.68. The company had a trading volume of 415,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 637,932. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.92. 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 quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 12.67%.The firm had revenue of $210.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. Photronics'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, analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLAB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Photronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Singular Research upgraded Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 103,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,266,000. This trade represents a 12.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total value of $219,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 200,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,960.63. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,382 shares of company stock worth $1,534,335 in the last three months. Corporate 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.