Benchmark Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $165.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Benchmark’s target price points to a potential upside of 7.63% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.00.

Plexus Trading Down 10.1 %

NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $153.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Plexus has a one year low of $90.18 and a one year high of $172.89. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.30 and a 200-day moving average of $141.25.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 2.82%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Plexus will post 6.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 5,691 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.06, for a total value of $950,738.46. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 19,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,271,870.10. This represents a 22.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $722,090.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,521,284.26. This represents a 17.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Plexus in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,489,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Plexus by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,445 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 1,278 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.