Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $165.00 target price on the technology company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.22% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PLXS. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.00.

Plexus Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ PLXS opened at $170.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 0.91. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $90.18 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 2.82%. On average, analysts forecast that Plexus will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In related news, insider Michael J. Running sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.93, for a total value of $89,125.47. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $241,516.17. This represents a 26.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 3,000 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.90, for a total transaction of $497,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $929,869.50. This represents a 34.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,109,047 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $217,611,000 after acquiring an additional 7,245 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Plexus in the third quarter worth approximately $899,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 3.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 200,186 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,367,000 after purchasing an additional 7,483 shares during the period. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI raised its position in shares of Plexus by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI now owns 13,346 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 5,138 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Plexus during the 3rd quarter valued at $332,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.