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

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $19.79 and last traded at $19.89, with a volume of 733872 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Photronics Trading Down 4.6 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.03 and its 200-day moving average is $23.83. The firm has a market capitalization 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 results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In related news, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,447.50. The trade was a 47.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.27, for a total transaction of $505,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,642. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 199,000 shares of company stock worth $4,878,810 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Photronics by 216.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 137.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in 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 raised its stake 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. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

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.