Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $20.06, but opened at $18.06. Photronics shares last traded at $18.02, with a volume of 322,824 shares traded.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. The company's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PLAB. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Photronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Photronics from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Photronics news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.87, for a total transaction of $134,882.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $178,700. This trade represents a 43.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 552,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,538,890. The trade was 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 valued at $1,093,093 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 2.1% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 30,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Photronics by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,042 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 90,245 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Photronics by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,314 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company's stock.

Photronics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.43. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $19.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.81.

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.