EMC Capital Management Has $261,000 Stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

EMC Capital Management trimmed its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,984 shares during the period. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Photronics were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Photronics Stock Up 0.7 %

Photronics stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.99. 5,424 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,129. Photronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.25 and a twelve month high of $34.16. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 1.39.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total value of $1,565,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 219,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,446,275.10. The trade was a 22.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 8,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.40, for a total value of $213,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 572,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,959,240. This represents a 1.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 199,000 shares of company stock worth $4,878,810. 3.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

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.