Denali Advisors LLC Raises Position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 149.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,863 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,863 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned 0.22% of Photronics worth $2,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth about $110,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 36.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $140,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 10,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $193,762. This represents a 35.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 29,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $595,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 459,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,284,384.60. This trade represents a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,382 shares of company stock valued at $985,035. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.32. 475,976 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 557,986. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.35. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $31.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 14.00%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Photronics 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.