LSV Asset Management Cuts Stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,507,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 52,300 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned about 2.41% of Photronics worth $47,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Photronics by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,321,531 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $107,548,000 after buying an additional 186,718 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,397,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,855,000 after acquiring an additional 547,510 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Photronics by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,115,690 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,548,000 after acquiring an additional 4,222 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,029,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,811,000 after purchasing an additional 159,393 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Photronics by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 855,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,294,000 after purchasing an additional 30,397 shares in the last quarter. 88.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd.

Photronics Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of PLAB stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 350,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,967. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.83. Photronics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.15 and a 12-month high of $34.16.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $216.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $220.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS 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.