Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires New Holdings in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA bought a new stake in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,408 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Photronics by 216.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,114 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 762 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Photronics by 65.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,283 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Photronics by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Photronics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.38% of the company’s stock.

Photronics Price Performance

PLAB stock opened at $18.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 1.40. Photronics, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.46 and a 12 month high of $31.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.07.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The semiconductor company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $212.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.00 million. Photronics had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 15.07%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Photronics

In other Photronics news, CEO Kang Jyh Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.90, for a total transaction of $209,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,538,890. The trade was a 1.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter M. Fiederowicz sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.88, for a total value of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $331,306.24. This trade represents a 28.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $866,760 in the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.