Adam M. Lewis Sells 19,750 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stock

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $476,172.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,250 shares in the company, valued at $536,447.50. This represents a 47.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $24.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.41. Photronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.25 and a 52-week high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Photronics by 4.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 12.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 73,350 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 8,372 shares during the period. Meros Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 476,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,796,000 after buying an additional 25,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Photronics by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,217,000 after acquiring an additional 85,160 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in Photronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PLAB. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th.

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.