Stifel Nicolaus Initiates Coverage on Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) in a report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $152.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price indicates a potential upside of 6.75% from the stock’s current price.

PLXS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

Plexus Price Performance

PLXS stock opened at $142.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04 and a beta of 0.89. Plexus has a one year low of $90.18 and a one year high of $172.89.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $496,814.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,281,775.14. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 4,337 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.23, for a total transaction of $616,851.51. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 80,595 shares in the company, valued at $11,463,026.85. This represents a 5.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,239 shares of company stock valued at $2,212,730 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 573.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Plexus in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 94.45% of the stock is 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.