Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $40.59, but opened at $42.28. Flex shares last traded at $41.62, with a volume of 1,446,803 shares.

The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.07. Flex had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 16.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FLEX. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Flex from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Flex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Flex from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $39.00 price target on Flex in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Flex in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.67.

Insider Transactions at Flex

In related news, Director Charles K. Stevens III sold 13,157 shares of Flex stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.69, for a total value of $509,044.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,155,535.97. This trade represents a 19.10 % 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. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flex

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Flex in the third quarter worth about $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Flex during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Flex by 87.9% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Flex during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Flex during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Flex Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.25.

Flex Company Profile

Flex Ltd. provides technology, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Flex Agility Solutions (FAS), Flex Reliability Solutions (FRS), and Nextracker. The FAS segment offers flexible supply and manufacturing system comprising communications, enterprise and cloud solution, which includes data, edge, and communications infrastructure; lifestyle solution including appliances, consumer packaging, floorcare, micro mobility, and audio; and consumer devices, such as mobile and high velocity consumer devices.