Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Trading Down 8.9% – What’s Next?

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX)’s share price traded down 8.9% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $146.89 and last traded at $146.85. 4,470,077 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 5,227,152 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Flex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.70.

Flex Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $54.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Flex Ltd. will post 4.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Scott Offer sold 6,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.23, for a total value of $966,796.11. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 91,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,233,648.06. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 8,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.19, for a total value of $1,303,951.39. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 248,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,086,393.74. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock valued at $110,116,823. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Flex by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,294,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $84,714,000 after purchasing an additional 109,992 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new stake in Flex during the 1st quarter valued at $4,949,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Flex during the first quarter worth $446,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Flex in the first quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Flex during the first quarter valued at about $5,891,000. Institutional investors own 94.30% of the company’s stock.

About Flex

Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX), formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.