Wall Street Zen Downgrades Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) to Hold

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Plexus from “buy” to “hold,” although the broader analyst consensus remains “Buy” with an average price target of $276.86.
• Plexus reported strong quarterly results, earning $2.32 per share on $1.30 billion in revenue—beating estimates and achieving 28.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The stock trades at about 39 times earnings after rising substantially over the past year, while analysts have raised price targets; however, concerns remain about whether cash generation is keeping pace with growth.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PLXS. Weiss Ratings downgraded Plexus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. KeyCorp raised Plexus from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Plexus from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research raised Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Sidoti upgraded Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $308.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $276.86.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS opened at $263.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.01 and a 200-day moving average of $250.95. Plexus has a 12 month low of $132.03 and a 12 month high of $307.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.19. Plexus had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.64 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Plexus has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.470-2.630 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Plexus will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In other news, Director Karen Rapp sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.87, for a total transaction of $120,435.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,955.45. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.41, for a total value of $363,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,608,295.08. The trade was a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $1,960,520 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.78% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plexus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Trust Point Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Plexus by 5.5% in the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the technology company's stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Plexus by 6.0% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,858 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Plexus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Plexus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the technology company's stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Plexus

Here are the key news stories impacting Plexus this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating and a $300 price target, implying additional upside from recent levels. The firm forecasts Plexus will earn $7.18 per share in fiscal 2026 and $8.74 per share in fiscal 2027, with quarterly EPS estimates rising from $2.01 in Q1 2027 to $2.35 in Q4 2027. Those projections point to continued earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: The latest quarterly results provide support for the bullish outlook: Plexus previously exceeded EPS and revenue expectations, reporting $2.32 in EPS on $1.30 billion of revenue, with revenue up 28.2% year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: A report stated that Plexus was the subject of a significant increase in short interest, but also listed total short interest at zero shares and a days-to-cover ratio of 0.0. The data appears internally inconsistent, so it offers little reliable insight into current trading sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis argues that Plexus’s growth must be accompanied by stronger cash generation. The article’s focus on cash conversion signals a potential concern for investors even as revenue and earnings expand, particularly because the stock trades at a relatively elevated valuation of about 39 times earnings. Plexus: Growth Has Arrived, But The Cash Must Follow

Plexus Company Profile

Plexus Corp. is a global electronics manufacturing services company that designs, manufactures and services products for original equipment manufacturers. The company supports customers across the product life cycle, from product development and engineering to supply chain management, assembly, testing, fulfillment and aftermarket services.

Plexus provides solutions for industries including healthcare and life sciences, industrial and commercial, aerospace and defense, and communications.

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