Plexus’ (PLXS) Buy Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

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

PLXS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.33.

Plexus Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of 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 quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.67. The firm 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts predict that Plexus will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 19,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,271,870.10. This represents a 22.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total transaction of $722,090.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,284.26. This trade represents a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Plexus during the fourth quarter worth $107,489,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 59.0% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,445 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Plexus Company Profile

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.