Legal & General Group Plc Sells 17,303 Shares of Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 17,303 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.25% of Photronics worth $4,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,883,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $92,271,000 after purchasing an additional 370,489 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 4.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,412,245 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $55,361,000 after acquiring an additional 106,069 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 699.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,305,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,914,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017,052 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Photronics by 1.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 837,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,331,000 after acquiring an additional 10,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Photronics by 21.4% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 597,819 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,720,000 after acquiring an additional 105,389 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of Photronics stock opened at $29.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $45.20 and its 200-day moving average is $37.68. Photronics, Inc. has a one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $56.00.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $209.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.47 million. Photronics had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 7.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Photronics has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.390-0.450 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PLAB. Wall Street Zen lowered Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Zacks Research lowered Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, May 29th. Lake Street Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.35, for a total value of $2,267,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Hsueh-Chun Wang sold 19,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.30, for a total value of $872,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 113,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,144,268. This trade represents a 14.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 346,144 shares of company stock valued at $15,061,759. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Profile

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.