Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,821 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 24,256 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Photronics were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 297.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 114,133 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 85,397 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Photronics by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 57,015 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in Photronics by 76.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,467 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Photronics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 38.4% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 210,975 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,970,000 after buying an additional 58,590 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson decreased 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.

Photronics Trading Up 2.9%

Shares of PLAB traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $17.43. The company had a trading volume of 1,988,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,015. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.88. The company has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.43.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $212.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.60, for a total transaction of $216,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 542,100 shares in the company, valued at $11,709,360. The trade was a 1.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.16, for a total value of $95,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,339.68. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,548 shares of company stock worth $1,093,093. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.