Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Key Points

• Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 50.9%, acquiring a total of 57,417 shares valued at approximately $1.19 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Directors at Photronics sold significant shares recently, including Kang Jyh Lee and Constantine S. Macricostas, decreasing their positions by 0.91% and 6.03%, respectively.
• Photronics stock has dropped by 2.8% during recent trading, currently at $19.79, after the company reported a miss on earnings estimates for the last quarter.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 50.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,417 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,375 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Photronics worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Photronics by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,868,889 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $138,271,000 after buying an additional 29,681 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Photronics by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,120,319 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,955,000 after buying an additional 257,373 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Photronics by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,837,000 after buying an additional 30,237 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Photronics by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,044,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $24,617,000 after buying an additional 41,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Photronics by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 770,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $18,141,000 after buying an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ PLAB traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $19.91. The company had a trading volume of 167,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,526. Photronics, Inc. has a one year low of $16.46 and a one year high of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 1.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $19.07 and its 200-day moving average is $20.08.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.08). The business 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 firm's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Photronics

In related news, Director Mitchell G. Tyson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.97, for a total value of $299,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 56,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,136,832.19. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Garcia purchased 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $193,762. This represents a 35.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,382 shares of company stock valued at $985,035 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.