Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Trading Down 8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell about 8% intraday to $47.28 from a $51.40 close, with only ~258,045 shares traded — roughly 76% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Photronics beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.61 (vs. $0.54 expected) and revenue of $225.07M (up 6.1% YoY), and issued Q2 guidance of $0.49–$0.55 EPS.
• The stock has a consensus "Buy" rating with a $46.33 average target, even as insiders have sold ~346,144 shares in the past 90 days and institutions own about 88.38% of the company.

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) shares dropped 8% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $47.82 and last traded at $47.2820. Approximately 258,045 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,074,951 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLAB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $46.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Photronics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average price is $40.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.25.

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

Insider Activity at Photronics

In related news, CFO Eric Rivera sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total transaction of $44,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,096,465.21. This represents a 0.73% 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, CAO Rui Zhang sold 4,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.70, for a total transaction of $212,765.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 27,079 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,264,589.30. This represents a 14.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 346,144 shares of company stock worth $15,061,759 in the last 90 days. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Photronics by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $92,271,000 after acquiring an additional 370,489 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Photronics by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $55,361,000 after purchasing an additional 106,069 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $52,914,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,052 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Photronics by 395.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,536,374 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Photronics in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,902,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

About Photronics

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.

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