Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 1,385,370 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its holdings in Photronics, Inc. by 69.5%, selling 1,385,370 shares during the first quarter and now owns 0.95% of the company.
• Photronics reported a quarterly earnings miss, posting an EPS of $0.40 against the consensus estimate of $0.48, along with a 2.8% year-over-year revenue decline.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on Photronics, with DA Davidson lowering the price target from $35.00 to $30.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 69.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 606,586 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,385,370 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned 0.95% of Photronics worth $12,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Photronics by 1,761.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 64,169 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 60,721 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 0.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 22.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 28,982 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $602,000 after buying an additional 5,391 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 1.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Skylands Capital LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 15.4% in the first quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 189,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,940,000 after buying an additional 25,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLAB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson cut their price target on Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Photronics in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th.

Photronics Stock Down 0.1%

PLAB stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 124,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 629,961. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $19.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.17. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Photronics had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 14.00%. The business had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other news, Director Constantine S. Macricostas sold 29,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.20, for a total transaction of $595,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 459,623 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,284,384.60. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $193,762. This trade represents a 35.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 49,382 shares of company stock worth $985,035 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.