Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $138.40 and last traded at $136.13, with a volume of 7337 shares. The stock had previously closed at $137.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PLXS shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Plexus from $114.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Plexus from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.25.

Plexus Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $128.27 and its 200-day moving average is $114.19.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.17. Plexus had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.64%. The business had revenue of $960.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $981.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In other 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.75, for a total transaction of $123,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 87,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,769,467.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total transaction of $64,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,586 shares in the company, valued at $1,227,199.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,113 shares of company stock valued at $2,541,394. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in shares of Plexus by 1.1% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 16,273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus in the first quarter valued at about $2,149,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plexus in the first quarter worth about $267,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,190 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,336,000 after buying an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Plexus by 13.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.