Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $147.25.

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

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of PLXS stock opened at $164.50 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.54. Plexus has a 12-month low of $90.18 and a 12-month high of $170.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.02 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Plexus will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In other news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 24,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,284.26. This represents a 17.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,113 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.19, for a total transaction of $448,863.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,093,223.37. The trade was a 8.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,591 shares of company stock worth $5,143,375 in the last three months. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plexus

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLXS. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Plexus by 573.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Plexus by 36,700.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Plexus by 89.4% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

About Plexus

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.