Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Sets New 1-Year Low - Time to Sell?

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $18.33 and last traded at $18.44, with a volume of 374539 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Photronics Trading Down 2.6 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.17 and a 200 day moving average of $23.21. The firm has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In other news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,538,890. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total transaction of $95,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,339.68. This represents a 16.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,750 shares of company stock valued at $734,600 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Photronics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Photronics by 216.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Photronics by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Photronics by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

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.