Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 16,497 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter worth $1,206,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Photronics in the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. LVZ Inc. raised its position in Photronics by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 22,807 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 4,604 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Photronics by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,007,582 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $23,739,000 after acquiring an additional 40,579 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In related news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total value of $1,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.27, for a total value of $505,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,642. This represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,000 shares of company stock worth $5,087,810. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLAB traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.26. 604,001 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,922. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.17 and a beta of 1.43. Photronics, Inc. has a one year low of $19.61 and a one year high of $31.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.66.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.