Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $19.16 and last traded at $21.79, with a volume of 17262 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Photronics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.89.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In related news, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $476,172.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $536,447.50. This trade represents a 47.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total value of $267,750.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 102,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,439,500. This trade represents a 9.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 199,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,878,810. Corporate insiders own 3.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Creative Planning bought a new position in Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Photronics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in Photronics by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 16,053 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.