North Star Investment Management Corp. Makes New Investment in Photronics, Inc. $PLAB

North Star Investment Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 30,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Photronics by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,624 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Photronics by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,917 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Photronics by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Kendall Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 46,385 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Photronics in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Photronics in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Photronics from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Photronics news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.92, for a total transaction of $918,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 355,850 shares in the company, valued at $16,340,632. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Eric Rivera sold 1,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.77, for a total value of $44,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,096,465.21. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 326,144 shares of company stock valued at $14,313,759 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $31.28 on Tuesday. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.60.

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

Photronics Company 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.