Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Stock Falls 8.9% – Here’s What Happened

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)’s stock price traded down 8.9% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $223.70 and last traded at $217.9980. 72,950 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 311,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.34.

Plexus News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Plexus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Plexus reported record fiscal 2026 revenue of $4.965 billion, up 23% year over year. Fourth-quarter revenue reached $1.427 billion, while adjusted EPS of $2.84 exceeded estimates near $2.55-$2.57. Plexus Announces Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.46-$2.62, above the $2.34 consensus, and revenue guidance of $1.41-$1.46 billion, modestly ahead of the $1.4 billion estimate. Plexus Provides Earnings Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company won 36 manufacturing programs representing $290 million in annualized revenue at full ramp, expanded its qualified opportunity funnel to $4.9 billion, and raised its long-term non-GAAP operating-margin goal to 6.5%-7.0%.
• Positive Sentiment: Plexus authorized a new $100 million fiscal 2027 share-repurchase program after buying back $85 million of stock during fiscal 2026. It also expects at least $100 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2027.
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s decline appears to reflect profit-taking and elevated expectations after a substantial prior rally; the strong quarter and guidance were not enough to produce a positive reaction.
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted operating-margin guidance of 6.0%-6.4% for the first quarter is below the 6.7% achieved in the latest quarter, potentially raising concerns about near-term margin normalization.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal-year free cash flow was negative $28.9 million because heavy investment and working-capital needs outweighed operating cash generation. The top 10 customers also represented 54% of fiscal-year revenue, increasing concentration risk.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PLXS has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Plexus from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Plexus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Sidoti raised Plexus from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.86.

Plexus Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $246.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.44. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.29. Plexus had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karen Rapp sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.87, for a total value of $120,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,955.45. This trade represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael V. Schrock sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 40,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,090,475. The trade was a 9.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,319,260 in the last 90 days. 1.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLXS. Trust Point Inc. grew its position in shares of Plexus by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Plexus by 1.6% in the third quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Plexus by 6.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Plexus by 6.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Plexus during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Company Profile

Plexus Corp. is an electronics manufacturing services company that helps customers design, develop, manufacture and service complex electronic products. The company provides an integrated product-realization process spanning engineering and design, supply-chain management, manufacturing, testing, logistics and aftermarket services.

Plexus supports original equipment manufacturers in industries including healthcare and life sciences, industrial and commercial, aerospace and defense, and communications.