AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 13,214 Shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) by 121.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 13,214 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Photronics were worth $567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Photronics by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 137.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,212 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Photronics from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th.

Photronics Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:PLAB opened at $20.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.61 and its 200 day moving average is $23.68. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.61 and a 12 month high of $31.60.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. Photronics had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 9.10%. The company had revenue of $212.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $210.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In related news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total value of $1,565,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 219,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,275.10. The trade was a 22.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Han Kyung Park sold 11,250 shares of Photronics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.80, for a total transaction of $267,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 102,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,439,500. This represents a 9.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 209,000 shares of company stock worth $5,087,810. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

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.