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PLPLAB

Photronics, Inc.

$PLAB·$1.7B·Semiconductors·Technology
$28.53+0.6%YTD-12.0%1Y+21.4%
Price updated 16h ago·X counts updated 12d ago
PLPLAB
$PLABPhotronics, Inc.
$28.53+0.60%22 posts
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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On X

The complete picture of $PLAB on X — how loud the conversation is right now, how it has trended over the last two weeks, and which way the crowd is leaning.

22X posts · last 7 days
Sep 28Oct 4
Bullish sentiment⚠AI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data8 posts analyzed · as of 2026-09-02 · top-engagement diverged

Photronics beats fiscal Q3 with adj EPS $0.50 vs $0.40 and revenue $216M vs $208M (+2.7% YoY), and the stock spikes ~18% premarket. Bulls stack $673M cash + short-term investments against a ~$1.8B market cap plus $76M in operating cash flow, and note a 23% short float. Skeptics point out operating income actually declined ~5.5% YoY and Q4 guide is wide, framing the move as 'beat but not tape-buying it yet.'

Read what X is saying about $PLAB

  • Bullish vs bearish call — with the AI summary of the day's posts
  • Divergence flag when the top-engagement posts argue the other side
  • How loud the conversation is versus this ticker's own normal
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AI verdictAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

TickerTalks' own read on what's driving $PLAB — fundamentals, momentum, or an event — and whether it agrees with the X crowd.

Proven numbersWinding up for a moveAI verdict · as of 2026-10-03

Trading in a tight range and building pressure — a move looks likely soon, but the direction isn't clear yet.

Photronics beat Q3 by 24% on photomask demand — now five insiders have been trimming at $30 into the recovery.

Photronics beat fiscal Q3 2026 by 24% ($0.50 vs $0.40) on revenue of $216M (+2.7% YoY), with the stock spiking 18% premarket on the print and now sitting with $673M of cash against a $1.86B market cap.

  • Revenue growth has been choppy — Q3 +3%, Q2 -0.5%, Q1 +6%, Q4 -3% — consistent with the mid-cycle semiconductor-equipment profile, where the photomask business is a lagging rather than leading indicator of fab demand.
  • Insider activity is net distribution — director Lee Kang Jyh sold 17,500 shares across two September days ($528K at $29.50-$30.75), officer Park sold $288K at $30.37 — these are small trims but a consistent signal.
  • At $31.49 and 32% of the 52-week range, the forward multiple on fiscal 2026 EPS of $2.01 is 15.7x — cheap compared to the broader semiconductor-equipment group, cushioned by the $673M net-cash balance.

The December 9 fiscal Q4 earnings is the next hard test — a beat plus design-win commentary (per the sell-side's 'design recovery' thesis from September 15) would unlock the next leg higher; the insider trim cluster puts a soft ceiling on near-term chasers.

Agrees with X sentimentX is bullish framing the fiscal Q3 beat and the design-recovery thesis plus the $673M cash cushion; the TickerTalks read agrees but is more cautious given the five insider sales in late September into early October.

What to watch: December 9 fiscal Q4 earnings and design-recovery commentary; semiconductor-fab capex trends from TSMC and Samsung; follow-on insider activity after the September-October cluster of director and officer sales.

On the calendar: Fiscal Q4 earnings scheduled 2026-12-09

Read the AI verdict on $PLAB

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • Whether TickerTalks' read agrees with or diverges from the X crowd
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Manufactures photomasks—templates used in semiconductor IC and flat panel display fabrication—serving chipmakers and foundries globally.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Semiconductors sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $PLAB.

Semiconductors · Technology

No material change from last week — hyperscaler AI capex remains the structural driver with Blackwell supply still packaging-constrained. Jensen Huang publicly named memory bandwidth as AI's next bottleneck, reinforcing HBM3e pricing power. AVGO custom ASIC demand broadens AI beneficiaries beyond NVDA's GPU allocation.

What this means for $PLAB

Direct beneficiary — Manufactures photomasks—templates used in semiconductor IC and flat panel display fabrication—serving chipmakers and foundries globally.; AI cluster networking demand is the secondary semi capex wave after GPU silicon.

Top industry ETF

$SMHVanEck Semiconductor ETF
+64.5%YTD
+63.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
10.6How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
9.8%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
22.9%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
5.6%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
2.0Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
13.4%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
33.8%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.0Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 26, 2026$0.50$0.40+24.0%
Q1 2026May 28, 2026$0.42$0.53-20.8%
Q4 2025Feb 25, 2026$0.61$0.54+13.0%
Q3 2025Dec 10, 2025$0.60$0.45+32.4%
Next earningsWed, Dec 9·consensus EPS $0.44

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q2 FY26$209.9M-0.5%31.3%20.1%$0.54$1.2M
Q1 FY26$225.1M+6.1%35.0%24.3%$0.74$49.6M
Q4 FY25$215.8M-3.1%35.0%24.3%$1.07$20.2M
Q3 FY25$210.4M-0.3%33.7%22.9%$0.38$25.2M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 3 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$868.0M$863.5M – $874.5M$2.01$1.95 – $2.133
FY27$892.4M$883.4M – $902.3M$2.05$1.95 – $2.133
FY28$946.3M$920.9M – $971.7M$2.19$2.16 – $2.222
FY29$1.0B$1.0B – $1.0B$2.35$2.32 – $2.391
FY30$1.1B$1.1B – $1.1B$2.50$2.47 – $2.541

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.1.3×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.24%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-5.0%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-20.1%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 56.7M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today2.0% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β1.325-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellSep 29Lee Kang JyhDirector10.0K sh$308KSellSep 25Park Han KyungSVP & GM of FPD Ops9.5K sh$289KSellSep 24Lee Kang JyhDirector7.5K sh$221KSellSep 22Lee Kang JyhDirector10.0K sh$297K
+ 2 other (2 inkinds) in window

See when $PLAB insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

No material 8-K / SC 13D / S-3 / 424B5 filings in the last 180 days.

+ 8 other (3 13Gs · 2 10-Qs · 2 earnings 8-Ks · 1 SD) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Director Kang Jyh Lee Sells 10,000 Shares of Company Stockdefenseworld.net·14d agoPhotronics to Participate in 18th Annual CEO Investor Summitglobenewswire.com·16d agoEngineers Gate Manager LP Invests $1.29 Million in Photronics, Inc. $PLABdefenseworld.net·28d agoPhotronics: A Design Recovery Could Unlock Meaningful Upsideseekingalpha.com·31d agoKaplan Fox Encourages Photronics, Inc. (PLAB) Investors Who Suffered Losses to Seek a Leadership Role Before September 4, 2026newsfilecorp.com·42d ago

In themes

Explore the broader themes this ticker is being talked about under.

AI InfrastructureSemiconductor Onshoring

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Voices on X · last 7 days

No standout posts about $PLAB on X in the last 7 days.

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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