AJOVista LLC Buys Shares of 3,468 Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB)

AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Photronics by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,321,531 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $107,548,000 after buying an additional 186,718 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Photronics by 88.3% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,560,215 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $31,532,000 after purchasing an additional 731,793 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Photronics by 64.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,397,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,855,000 after purchasing an additional 547,510 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Photronics by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,115,690 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,548,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Photronics by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,029,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $20,811,000 after purchasing an additional 159,393 shares during the period. 88.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Photronics Trading Up 2.3 %

Photronics stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.78. The stock had a trading volume of 350,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,967. Photronics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.15 and a 52-week high of $34.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.83.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The semiconductor company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $216.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $220.00 million. Photronics had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Photronics, Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Photronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd.

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.