Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) was upgraded by research analysts at Freedom Capital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

FLEX has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.70.

Flex Stock Performance

Shares of FLEX stock opened at $119.25 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.36. Flex has a one year low of $47.83 and a one year high of $166.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.16 and its 200 day moving average is $95.78.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. Sell-side analysts expect that Flex will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Flex

In related news, EVP David Scott Offer sold 6,657 shares of Flex stock in a transaction on 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 owned 91,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,233,648.06. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 39,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.18, for a total value of $5,689,313.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 584,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,825,480.04. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock worth $110,116,823. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flex

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FLEX. JSF Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Flex by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 20,504 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Flex by 3.4% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 3,775 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Flex by 2.1% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,967 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in Flex by 57.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 457 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Flex by 7.9% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.