Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PLXS. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on Plexus in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $162.00 target price (down previously 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Plexus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.67.

Plexus Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ PLXS opened at $135.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.47 and a 200 day moving average of $137.80. Plexus has a 1 year low of $100.96 and a 1 year high of $172.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.12. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Plexus will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.87, for a total value of $194,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,768,042.18. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total value of $65,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,224,661.05. This represents a 5.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus during the first quarter valued at about $71,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.