Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 61,013 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Photronics were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Skylands Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 189,800 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 25,300 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Photronics by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 31,525 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Illumine Investment Management LLC now owns 32,862 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 5,277 shares during the last quarter. LVZ Inc. increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 35.1% in the 1st quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 30,807 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Photronics by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 60,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 3,694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Price Performance

Photronics stock traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.22. The company had a trading volume of 454,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,266. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.46 and a 12-month high of $31.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $19.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.40.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $210.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The firm's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kang Jyh Lee sold 4,882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.35, for a total transaction of $89,584.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 532,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,764,035. This trade represents a 0.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Garcia acquired 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $19.00 per share, with a total value of $50,350.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 have 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.