Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Shares Purchased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,874 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,996 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.48% of Plexus worth $20,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLXS. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Plexus by 139.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,786 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,669,000 after buying an additional 28,406 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Plexus by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,779 shares of the technology company's stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Plexus by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,445 shares of the technology company's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,278 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Plexus by 12.1% during the 4th 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 period. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $162.00 target price (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.67.

Plexus Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $134.28. The stock had a trading volume of 137,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 168,905. Plexus Corp. has a 1 year low of $100.96 and a 1 year high of $172.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $124.90 and its 200-day moving average is $143.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $980.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.07 million. Plexus had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In related news, Director Randy J. Martinez sold 887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.52, for a total value of $124,641.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at $678,852.12. This trade represents a 15.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total transaction of $173,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares in the company, valued at $176,879.12. This trade represents a 49.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,137 shares of company stock valued at $577,916 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus 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.