Insider Selling: Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Director Sells 8,750 Shares of Stock

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $300,212.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 484,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,626,626. This trade represents a 1.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Kang Jyh Lee also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, December 12th, Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of Photronics stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.53, for a total transaction of $770,600.00.
• On Monday, December 15th, Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of Photronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.45, for a total transaction of $729,000.00.
• On Monday, October 6th, Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.33, for a total value of $253,300.00.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLAB traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.20. 805,362 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,143,332. Photronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $39.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.93 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.65.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 10th. The semiconductor company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.13. Photronics had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 16.06%.The business had revenue of $215.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $204.54 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Photronics has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.510-0.590 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Photronics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Photronics by 673.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 336.4% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PLAB. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Photronics from $30.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Singular Research raised shares of Photronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of Photronics from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.50.

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.