Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $18.33 and last traded at $18.44, with a volume of 374539 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Photronics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.38 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.35.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 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%. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million during 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $95,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,339.68. This trade represents a 16.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.02, for a total value of $250,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 580,850 shares in the company, valued at $14,532,867. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,000 shares of company stock worth $1,261,888. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Photronics by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 967,003 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,943,000 after purchasing an additional 32,977 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Photronics by 36.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 135,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 35,825 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Photronics by 53.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 49,077 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 17,113 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Photronics in the third quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the third quarter valued at approximately $302,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.