Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $19.79 and last traded at $19.89, with a volume of 733872 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Photronics Stock Up 3.7 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.88 and a 200 day moving average of $23.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total transaction of $213,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 572,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,959,240. This trade represents a 1.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $267,750.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 102,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,439,500. The trade was a 9.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 199,000 shares of company stock worth $4,878,810 in the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Photronics by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Photronics by 137.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Photronics by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Photronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Photronics by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Company Profile

Photronics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of photomask products and services in the United States, Taiwan, China, Korea, Europe, and internationally. It offers photomasks that are used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and flat panel displays (FPDs); and to transfer circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers, and FDP substrates.