Vident Advisory LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 14.7% during the first quarter, owning 156,603 shares worth approximately $3.25 million.
• Photronics reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.39, with total revenue of $210.39 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Photronics, with a consensus "buy" rating, while some firms have downgraded their price targets, currently averaging $31.00.

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,603 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 20,112 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Photronics worth $3,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PLAB. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Photronics by 8.8% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,196,267 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,595,000 after purchasing an additional 177,380 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the first quarter valued at $3,462,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at $3,419,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Photronics by 12.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,258,714 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,131,000 after purchasing an additional 135,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Photronics by 4.9% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,224,519 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,181,000 after purchasing an additional 104,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PLAB shares. DA Davidson decreased their price target 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. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Photronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.93, for a total value of $219,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 200,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,398,960.63. This represents a 4.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.97, for a total transaction of $299,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 56,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,136,832.19. The trade was a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 59,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,204,335. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.22. 567,334 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 638,754. Photronics, Inc. has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.85.

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