Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Stock Lifted to "Overweight" by Fox Advisors

Key Points

• Fox Advisors upgraded Plexus to “overweight” from “equal weight,” adding to a generally positive analyst outlook. The stock has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $276.86.
• Plexus reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.84 versus the $2.55 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.43 billion, up 34.9% year over year and above expectations.
• PLXS opened at $207.96, well below its 52-week high of $307.06. Insiders sold 9,000 shares worth $2.32 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 94.45% of the company.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Fox Advisors from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports.

PLXS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Sidoti raised shares of Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $308.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. KeyCorp upgraded Plexus from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Plexus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $276.86.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of PLXS stock opened at $207.96 on Monday. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $132.03 and a fifty-two week high of $307.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock's fifty day moving average is $246.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 0.88.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.29. Plexus had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 4.08%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Plexus will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.16, for a total value of $358,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 62,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,040,294.08. This represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael V. Schrock sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $1,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,329 shares in the company, valued at $11,090,475. This trade represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,319,260. Insiders own 1.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in Plexus in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,627,000. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its stake in Plexus by 21.5% in the third quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 12,353 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,224,000 after purchasing an additional 2,184 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its holdings in Plexus by 45.1% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,598 shares of the technology company's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus during the third quarter worth approximately $378,000. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its holdings in Plexus by 4.1% during the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 15,834 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Company Profile

Plexus Corp. is an electronics manufacturing services company that helps customers design, develop, manufacture and service complex electronic products. The company provides an integrated product-realization process spanning engineering and design, supply-chain management, manufacturing, testing, logistics and aftermarket services.

Plexus supports original equipment manufacturers in industries including healthcare and life sciences, industrial and commercial, aerospace and defense, and communications.

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