Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $25.32, but opened at $29.69. Photronics shares last traded at $30.97, with a volume of 498,191 shares trading hands.

The semiconductor company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 9.46%. Photronics’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Photronics by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after purchasing an additional 8,372 shares during the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP grew its position in Photronics by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 476,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,796,000 after purchasing an additional 25,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Photronics by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,217,000 after purchasing an additional 85,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Photronics in the 3rd quarter worth about $252,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Trading Up 10.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.52.

About Photronics

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.