Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Now Covered by Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) in a research note published on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $152.00 price target on the technology company's stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PLXS. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a "sector weight" rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.00.

Plexus Stock Down 0.6 %

Plexus stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $141.07. The stock had a trading volume of 153,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 179,585. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $90.18 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 32.73 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $159.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.55.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.36%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Plexus will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 4,337 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.23, for a total value of $616,851.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 80,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,463,026.85. This trade represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total value of $84,013.93. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,030 shares of the company's stock, valued at $160,546.10. This represents a 34.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,239 shares of company stock worth $2,212,730 in the last 90 days. 1.76% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plexus

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Plexus by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,864 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,534,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plexus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $287,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Plexus by 47.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,371 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 2,999 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Plexus by 10.6% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 6,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Plexus by 190.1% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 760 shares of the technology company's stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

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.