Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $25.32, but opened at $29.69. Photronics shares last traded at $30.97, with a volume of 498,191 shares traded.

The semiconductor company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 16.22%. The firm had revenue of $222.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $218.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Photronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 28th.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Photronics by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,735 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Photronics by 2.0% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 28,145 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Photronics by 137.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 4.3% during the third quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 18,714 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Photronics Trading Up 22.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.53.

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.