Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 25,952 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,380 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,952 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.12% of Photronics worth $1,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 216.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position 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 valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PLAB shares. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday.

Photronics Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ PLAB traded up $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $17.81. 979,351 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 550,089. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.84 and a 200-day moving average of $21.71. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $31.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.43.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $212.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total transaction of $209,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,538,890. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.79, for a total value of $88,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $88,950. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,548 shares of company stock worth $1,093,093. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

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.