Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $159.00.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PLXS. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Benchmark lifted their price target on Plexus from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

Plexus Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $161.20 on Friday. Plexus has a 52-week low of $90.18 and a 52-week high of $170.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.20 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.68.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Plexus had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Plexus will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $722,090.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,284.26. The trade was a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total transaction of $234,585.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 74,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,615,241.69. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.3% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,109,047 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $217,611,000 after purchasing an additional 7,245 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $899,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Plexus by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 200,186 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,367,000 after buying an additional 7,483 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI lifted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 62.6% during the third quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 13,346 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,825,000 after buying an additional 5,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Plexus in the third quarter valued at approximately $826,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Company Profile

Plexus Corp. provides electronic manufacturing services in the United States and internationally. It offers design, develop, supply chain, new product introduction, and manufacturing solutions, as well as sustaining services to companies in the healthcare/life sciences, industrial/commercial, aerospace/defense, and communications market sectors.