Kang Jyh Lee Sells 20,000 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Stock

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $13,256,642. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Photronics Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLAB traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.04. 2,343,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 497,189. The business's 50 day moving average is $24.60 and its 200-day moving average is $24.51. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.25 and a 1 year high of $34.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 1.41.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 28th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 17.2% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,482,856 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $61,252,000 after purchasing an additional 364,150 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Photronics by 16.0% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,990,046 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,094,000 after purchasing an additional 275,082 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 12.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,684,647 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,560,000 after purchasing an additional 191,809 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 20.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 505,567 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $12,472,000 after purchasing an additional 86,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Photronics during the second quarter valued at $2,112,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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