Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Millennium Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 88.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,650 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 319,764 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Photronics worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PLAB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 216.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.6% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Photronics by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,467 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Photronics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total value of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,709,360. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $331,306.24. This represents a 28.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,548 shares of company stock valued at $884,093. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Photronics Price Performance

Shares of PLAB traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $18.33. The stock had a trading volume of 624,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 552,798. Photronics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.46 and a 1-year high of $31.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.57.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.08). Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $210.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PLAB shares. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th.

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.