Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 109,061 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Photronics stake by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 109,061 shares but still holding 5.67 million shares worth about $181.5 million. Vanguard remains a major owner with roughly 9.6% of the company.
• Wall Street sentiment has improved, with multiple firms upgrading PLAB and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating. Analysts’ average price target is $49.33, though some targets are higher, including $55 from Lake Street Capital.
• Photronics posted solid quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with $0.61 EPS on $225.07 million in revenue. The company also guided Q2 2026 EPS to $0.49-$0.55, while shares recently traded near a 12-month high.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,670,667 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 109,061 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.60% of Photronics worth $181,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Photronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Photronics by 673.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new stake in Photronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PLAB. Wall Street Zen upgraded Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In related news, CAO Rui Zhang sold 4,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $212,765.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 27,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,264,589.30. This represents a 14.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total value of $918,400.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 355,850 shares in the company, valued at $16,340,632. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759 over the last ninety days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Photronics Stock Performance

Photronics stock opened at $53.64 on Monday. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.59 and a 12 month high of $53.92. The stock's 50 day moving average is $41.92 and its 200-day moving average is $34.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 1.51.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.07. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 15.83%.The company had revenue of $225.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Photronics has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.490-0.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Photronics Company Profile

Photronics, Inc is a leading global supplier of photomask products used in the manufacture of integrated circuits, flat panel displays, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and advanced packaging applications. Photomasks, also known as reticles, are critical templates that carry the precise circuit patterns required for semiconductor lithography processes. The company offers a comprehensive range of mask solutions, including binary masks, attenuated phase-shift masks, reticles for micro-optics, and specialized products for high‐resolution applications.

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Brookfield, Connecticut, Photronics has grown through organic expansion and strategic investments in high‐end lithography technology.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PLAB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.