Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Bought by Meros Investment Management LP

Meros Investment Management LP raised its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 476,395 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,471 shares during the period. Photronics accounts for about 5.4% of Meros Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Meros Investment Management LP owned about 0.75% of Photronics worth $11,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,482,856 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $61,252,000 after acquiring an additional 364,150 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,368,450 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $58,643,000 after purchasing an additional 10,590 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 275,082 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $43,217,000 after buying an additional 85,160 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Photronics by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,684,647 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,560,000 after buying an additional 191,809 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Photronics Trading Up 10.8 %

PLAB traded up $2.74 on Wednesday, reaching $28.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,972,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,266. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.33 and a 200-day moving average of $24.52. Photronics, Inc. has a one year low of $20.25 and a one year high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.07. Photronics had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $222.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $218.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th.

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.