Insider Buying: Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Director Acquires 2,650 Shares of Stock

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) 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, with a total value of $50,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 10,198 shares in the company, valued at $193,762. The trade was a 35.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Photronics Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of PLAB traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.74. 950,113 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 552,457. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.46 and a 1 year high of $31.60. The firm's fifty day moving average is $18.91 and its 200-day moving average is $20.81.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.08). Photronics had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $210.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Photronics by 216.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Photronics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings 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 worth $54,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Photronics during the first quarter worth $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

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.