Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys 45,747 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Photronics, Inc. by 93.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately $1.97 million worth of stock.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Vanguard Group Inc., also significantly increased their holdings, with institutional investors now owning 88.38% of the company's stock.
• Photronics reported $0.40 EPS, missing analysts' expectations, and experienced a 2.8% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 93.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 94,880 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,747 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Photronics worth $1,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,868,889 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $138,271,000 after purchasing an additional 29,681 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,120,319 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $49,955,000 after buying an additional 257,373 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30,237 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,044,868 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $24,617,000 after acquiring an additional 41,487 shares during the period. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Photronics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 770,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $18,141,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other news, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $19.00 per share, for a total transaction of $50,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at $193,762. This trade represents a 35.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director owned 56,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,136,832.19. This trade represents a 20.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,382 shares of company stock worth $985,035. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Photronics Stock Performance

PLAB traded down $0.52 on Friday, reaching $19.84. The company had a trading volume of 320,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,902. Photronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.46 and a 52-week high of $31.60. The company has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.08). Photronics had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 14.00%. The company had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Photronics's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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.