GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 516 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 516 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Photronics were worth $81,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Photronics by 4.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 70,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 12.9% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meros Investment Management LP now owns 476,395 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,796,000 after purchasing an additional 25,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $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 during the third quarter worth about $252,000. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 28th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of PLAB opened at $23.53 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.72 and its 200-day moving average is $24.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.39. Photronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.25 and a fifty-two week high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. 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 EPS. Analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total transaction of $1,565,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 219,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,446,275.10. This trade represents a 22.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total transaction of $267,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 102,500 shares in the company, valued at $2,439,500. This trade represents a 9.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,250 shares of company stock worth $4,665,310. Company insiders own 3.88% 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.