Plexus’ (PLXS) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Benchmark restated their buy rating on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $165.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.33.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $152.49 on Wednesday. Plexus has a 52 week low of $90.18 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.67. 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 company has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38 and a beta of 0.91.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 10.43% and a net margin of 3.03%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Plexus will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $234,585.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 74,271 shares in the company, valued at $11,615,241.69. This represents a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 5,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.06, for a total transaction of $950,738.46. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 19,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,271,870.10. This represents a 22.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLXS. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its stake in Plexus by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,168,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,457,000 after acquiring an additional 59,465 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Plexus by 3.0% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 788,196 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,074 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $107,489,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 653,759 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $89,392,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Plexus by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 421,903 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $57,678,000 after buying an additional 2,886 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.