Benchmark Reiterates Buy Rating for Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $160.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Benchmark’s price target indicates a potential upside of 19.15% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on PLXS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on Plexus in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $162.00 price target (down previously from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.67.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of PLXS stock opened at $134.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $100.96 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $124.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.12. Plexus had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $980.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $980.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Plexus will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,273,100. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total value of $173,275.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,879.12. The trade was a 49.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,137 shares of company stock worth $577,916. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,489,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Plexus by 139.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after buying an additional 28,406 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Plexus by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Plexus by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 261 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.