Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $40.59, but opened at $42.28. Flex shares last traded at $41.62, with a volume of 1,446,803 shares.

The technology company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.07. Flex had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 3.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on FLEX shares. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Flex from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Flex from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Flex from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $39.00 price target on Flex in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Flex in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Flex has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles K. Stevens III sold 13,157 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.69, for a total transaction of $509,044.33. Following the sale, the director now owns 55,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,155,535.97. The trade was a 19.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flex

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FLEX. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Flex by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 60,936 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 25,765 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Flex by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 226,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,674,000 after buying an additional 14,473 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Flex by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 277,406 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,181,000 after buying an additional 16,085 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Flex by 353.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 102,234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,015,000 after buying an additional 79,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Flex in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.30% of the company's stock.

Flex Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.95 and a 200-day moving average of $35.35. The stock has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.10.

Flex Company Profile

Flex Ltd. provides technology, supply chain, and manufacturing solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Flex Agility Solutions (FAS), Flex Reliability Solutions (FRS), and Nextracker. The FAS segment offers flexible supply and manufacturing system comprising communications, enterprise and cloud solution, which includes data, edge, and communications infrastructure; lifestyle solution including appliances, consumer packaging, floorcare, micro mobility, and audio; and consumer devices, such as mobile and high velocity consumer devices.