Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 2,130,000 shares. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 573,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Photronics Stock Down 1.6 %

PLAB traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,296,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 458,368. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.52. Photronics has a 1 year low of $19.61 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.43.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.00 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Photronics will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,538,890. This trade represents a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.63, for a total transaction of $277,087.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 118,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,340. This represents a 8.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 106,250 shares of company stock worth $2,540,688 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Photronics by 216.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 137.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.