Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,274 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 22,851 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Flex were worth $3,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Flex by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,341,053,000 after purchasing an additional 25,662,586 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Flex during the fourth quarter worth $319,756,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd purchased a new stake in Flex during the fourth quarter worth $2,497,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Flex by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 173,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,469,000 after purchasing an additional 19,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Flex by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 340,389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,566,000 after purchasing an additional 130,641 shares in the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on FLEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Stock Performance

Flex stock opened at $147.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.18, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.15. Flex Ltd. has a 52 week low of $42.83 and a 52 week high of $166.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Flex had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 3.15%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Flex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Flex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Flex announced it will join the S&P 500 effective before the open on June 22, a major milestone that should boost visibility, broaden institutional ownership, and increase demand from index-tracking funds. Flex to Join S&P 500 Index
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Flex to $203 from $174 and kept an Overweight rating, citing strength in the company’s AI-related businesses and other segments. Barclays Lifts PT on Flex Ltd. (FLEX), Cites AI and Business Segments
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to bullish commentary that Flex is being re-rated as an AI infrastructure beneficiary, with its CPI segment and planned spin-off seen as potential value drivers. The AI Kingdom Expands As Flex Joins The S&P 500
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, so it does not appear to be a major driver of the move today.

Insider Transactions at Flex

In other Flex news, Director Charles K. Stevens III sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.14, for a total transaction of $2,072,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,426 shares in the company, valued at $6,275,147.64. This represents a 24.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 22,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.38, for a total value of $3,163,114.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 232,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,132,680.28. This represents a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 345,012 shares of company stock valued at $48,508,103. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Flex Profile

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.