Renaissance Technologies LLC Boosts Stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB - Free Report) by 15.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 223,788 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,193 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.35% of Photronics worth $5,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 216.5% during 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 last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.6% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Photronics by 76.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,467 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 1,506 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Photronics news, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total value of $209,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares in the company, 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 have sold 44,548 shares of company stock valued at $877,093 in the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Photronics Stock Down 0.4 %

PLAB traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.60. 59,549 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 514,397. The company's 50-day moving average is $20.00 and its 200 day moving average is $22.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.46 and a 52 week high of $31.60.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The firm had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $210.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.