Key Points
- Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares on Jan. 5 at $33.90 for $339,000, and that transaction is part of a recent string of insider sales totaling about 67,500 shares (~$2.43M), leaving him with 465,850 shares (a ~2.1% ownership reduction from this trade).
- Photronics beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $0.60 (vs. $0.47 expected) and revenue of $215.77M, set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.51–$0.59 EPS, and carries an analyst consensus of "Buy" with an average price target of $43.50.
Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) Director Mitchell Tyson sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.21, for a total value of $176,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,199 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,036.79. The trade was a 10.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Photronics Trading Down 1.0%
PLAB stock opened at $34.86 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.57 and its 200 day moving average is $23.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 1.52. Photronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $39.80.
Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $215.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.54 million. Photronics had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Key Headlines Impacting Photronics
Here are the key news stories impacting Photronics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and near-term guidance beat expectations — Photronics reported stronger-than-expected results and set Q1 FY26 EPS guidance of $0.51–$0.59, which supports valuation upgrades and analyst price-target increases. Earnings & guidance summary
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target increases — Several firms have raised ratings and targets (Craig Hallum, DA Davidson, Zacks), lifting the consensus target to about $43.50 and underpinning bullish investor sentiment. Analyst coverage & outlook
- Positive Sentiment: Management hires and corporate governance additions — Photronics named Jeff Catlin SVP, Global Sales and added Michelle Almeida to the board, moves that could strengthen go-to-market execution and oversight. Catlin hire Almeida appointment
- Positive Sentiment: Investor access event — Photronics will present at the Needham Growth Conference (Jan. 14), providing a forum for management to reinforce growth drivers and guidance to investors. Needham conference notice
- Neutral Sentiment: Strategic/leadership review — Recent coverage (Yahoo Finance) discusses a CTO transition and how that changes the investment case; useful context but not an immediate earnings driver. CTO transition analysis
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy and clustered in early January — multiple directors (including Kang Jyh Lee, Mary Paladino and Mitchell Tyson) sold sizable blocks (5k–20k shares each) over Jan. 2–6. Repeated director sales can pressure the stock and raise short-term concern about insider demand. Insider selling report
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PLAB shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Craig Hallum upped their price objective on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Photronics currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $43.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on Photronics
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 826,718 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $15,706,000 after purchasing an additional 23,037 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 201.3% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 62,556 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 41,791 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its stake in shares of Photronics by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,607,874 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,106,000 after purchasing an additional 383,355 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Photronics during the first quarter valued at approximately $648,000. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Photronics by 16.1% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 204,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,240,000 after purchasing an additional 28,345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.
About Photronics
(
Get Free Report)
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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