Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

PLXS has been the subject of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on Plexus in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.67.

Plexus Price Performance

Plexus stock opened at $133.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $129.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.82. Plexus has a 1 year low of $100.96 and a 1 year high of $172.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. Plexus had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Plexus will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total value of $572,551.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,518.73. This trade represents a 14.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 2,058 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.22, for a total transaction of $272,108.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 26,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,455,305.26. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Plexus by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Plexus by 1,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Plexus during the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. 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.