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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Photronics Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $23.03 and a 200 day moving average of $23.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 1.37.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Photronics news, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $476,172.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,447.50. The trade was a 47.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $213,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 572,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,959,240. This represents a 1.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 199,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,878,810. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Photronics by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 137.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Photronics by 65.4% during the third 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. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.6% in the fourth 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. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.