Needham & Company LLC Increases Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Price Target to $172.00

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $162.00 to $172.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 12.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on PLXS. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.33.

Plexus Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $152.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.95. Plexus has a 52-week low of $90.18 and a 52-week high of $172.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.43%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Plexus will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In related news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.19, for a total transaction of $448,863.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,093,223.37. This trade represents a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $722,090.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,521,284.26. The trade was a 17.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLXS. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Plexus by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,453 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 891 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 21,692 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Plexus by 6.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,788 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 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.