Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases Shares of 52,100 Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 52,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Photronics at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PLAB. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Photronics by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,368,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $58,643,000 after buying an additional 10,590 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Photronics by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,165 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,217,000 after acquiring an additional 85,160 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Photronics by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 967,003 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,943,000 after purchasing an additional 32,977 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Photronics by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 762,500 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,880,000 after purchasing an additional 48,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Photronics by 1.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 746,606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,486,000 after purchasing an additional 12,603 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Christopher J. Progler sold 63,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.85, for a total value of $1,565,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 219,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,446,275.10. This represents a 22.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.27, for a total value of $505,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,642. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 199,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,878,810. 3.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Photronics Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ PLAB opened at $21.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.85. Photronics, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.25 and a twelve month high of $31.60.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 11th. The semiconductor company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $222.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $218.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. Photronics’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Photronics 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.