Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $19.79 and last traded at $19.89, with a volume of 733872 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Photronics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.76.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In related news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $240,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,500. This represents a 16.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.27, for a total value of $505,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 199,000 shares of company stock worth $4,878,810 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Photronics during the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Photronics by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $43,217,000 after purchasing an additional 85,160 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Photronics by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 530,401 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,133,000 after buying an additional 24,834 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Photronics by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 135,208 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,348,000 after buying an additional 35,825 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% 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.