Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 297.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,133 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,397 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.18% of Photronics worth $2,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PLAB. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Photronics by 137.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 223.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,629 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,816 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Photronics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Photronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Photronics Stock Performance

Shares of PLAB traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.19. 313,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 496,523. The stock's 50-day moving average is $24.60 and its 200-day moving average is $24.44. Photronics, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.25 and a fifty-two week high of $34.16. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.41.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the director now owns 22,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $536,447.50. This trade represents a 47.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 219,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,446,275.10. This represents a 22.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 102,750 shares of company stock worth $2,547,123. Corporate 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.