Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,540,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 2,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 573,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Photronics Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ PLAB traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $21.42. 236,354 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,769. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.24 and a beta of 1.43. Photronics has a 1-year low of $19.61 and a 1-year high of $31.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.57.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $210.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Photronics will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Insider Transactions at Photronics

In other Photronics news, Director Adam M. Lewis sold 19,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total transaction of $476,172.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 22,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,447.50. The trade was a 47.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 528,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,680,400. This represents a 3.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 126,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,016,860 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Photronics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $298,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Photronics during the fourth quarter valued at $3,419,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Photronics in the fourth quarter valued at $110,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Photronics in the fourth quarter worth about $656,000. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.