Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Short Interest Update

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,350,000 shares, a growth of 23.2% from the March 31st total of 2,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 651,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.1 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Photronics Stock Up 4.3 %

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $19.22 on Friday. Photronics has a 52-week low of $16.46 and a 52-week high of $31.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.40.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $132,160.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,548 shares in the company, valued at $331,306.24. This represents a 28.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,538,890. This represents a 1.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,548 shares of company stock worth $1,093,093 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Photronics

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLAB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,868,889 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $138,271,000 after acquiring an additional 29,681 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Photronics by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,120,319 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $49,955,000 after purchasing an additional 257,373 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Photronics by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018,887 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,565,000 after purchasing an additional 159,245 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,775,402 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,837,000 after buying an additional 30,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised 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 buying an additional 41,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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