Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 85,160 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.75% of Photronics worth $43,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Photronics by 297.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,133 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 85,397 shares during the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 152,385 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 12,940 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Photronics by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,368,450 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,643,000 after buying an additional 10,590 shares during the period. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC raised its position in Photronics by 6.7% in the third quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 762,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $18,880,000 after acquiring an additional 48,200 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Photronics Stock Up 1.4 %

PLAB traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $24.19. The stock had a trading volume of 313,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,523. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.25 and a 1 year high of $34.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $24.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.45. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $222.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other news, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 22,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $536,447.50. This trade represents a 47.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total transaction 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 represents a 22.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $2,547,123. Corporate insiders own 3.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PLAB shares. DA Davidson increased their target price 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.