KeyCorp Initiates Coverage on Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Stock analysts at KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage set a "sector weight" rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on PLXS. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Plexus from $114.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $125.25.

Plexus Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PLXS traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $134.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 90,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 126,321. The company has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $129.43 and a 200 day moving average of $115.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Plexus has a 1 year low of $87.21 and a 1 year high of $139.98.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $960.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $981.32 million. Plexus had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Plexus will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Plexus news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total transaction of $64,010.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,227,199.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Plexus news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total transaction of $64,010.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,227,199.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven J. Frisch sold 6,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.11, for a total value of $841,042.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,627,076.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,113 shares of company stock worth $2,541,394. 2.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Plexus by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,515,866 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $333,374,000 after purchasing an additional 74,988 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.3% in the second quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,109,047 shares of the technology company's stock worth $217,611,000 after acquiring an additional 7,245 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Plexus by 8.8% during the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,079,340 shares of the technology company's stock worth $111,366,000 after acquiring an additional 87,574 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Plexus by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 788,196 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $81,326,000 after purchasing an additional 23,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Plexus by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 453,308 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,772,000 after purchasing an additional 31,099 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is 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.