Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Down 7% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares of Photronics, Inc. fell 7% after insider selling by Director Mary Paladino, who sold 42,750 shares for $1.03 million, a 55.85% decrease in her holdings.
• Despite the decline, analysts maintain generally positive outlooks, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $31.00.
• The company reported earnings of $0.51 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $210.39 million, although down slightly year-over-year.

Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) were down 7% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $23.54 and last traded at $23.30. Approximately 772,757 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 16% from the average daily volume of 665,194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.05.

Specifically, Director Mary Paladino sold 42,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $1,026,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 33,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $811,152. The trade was a 55.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PLAB. Singular Research upgraded shares of Photronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Photronics in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $31.00.

Photronics Price Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $22.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.20. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.54.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $210.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.30 million. Photronics had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Photronics has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.420-0.480 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Photronics by 34.9% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 43,435 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 11,232 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,715 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $578,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 336.4% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Photronics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $477,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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