Alight Capital Management LP Trims Stock Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Alight Capital Management cut its Flex stake by 35% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 65,000 shares valued at about $3.9 million.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high at 94.3%, with several large firms including Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital Management, Norges Bank, and Polar Capital increasing or establishing positions.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: Flex has an average “Moderate Buy” rating, and analysts have recently raised price targets, even as the stock has seen notable insider selling tied largely to tax-withholding obligations.

Alight Capital Management LP lessened its stake in Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) by 35.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,000 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 35,000 shares during the period. Alight Capital Management LP's holdings in Flex were worth $3,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Flex by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after buying an additional 25,662,586 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Flex by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,055,533 shares of the technology company's stock worth $849,235,000 after buying an additional 2,126,440 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Flex by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,605,802 shares of the technology company's stock worth $459,829,000 after buying an additional 181,266 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Flex in the 4th quarter worth about $319,756,000. Finally, Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its stake in Flex by 141.8% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 3,693,141 shares of the technology company's stock worth $223,140,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,780 shares in the last quarter. 94.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FLEX. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on shares of Flex in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Flex presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of FLEX opened at $143.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.44 billion, a PE ratio of 61.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.64. The company's fifty day moving average is $120.56 and its 200 day moving average is $83.95. Flex Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $45.31 and a fifty-two week high of $166.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Flex had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company had revenue of $7.48 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Flex News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Flex this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 39,239 shares, a 6.48% reduction in her holdings, in a transaction valued at about $5.8 million; the filing says the sale was to cover tax withholding obligations. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Kevin Krumm sold 3,378 shares, and COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 10,540 shares, both describing the trades as tax-related equity award withholding rather than a change in business outlook. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP David Scott Offer sold shares in two transactions, including one under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which may reduce concern about timing but still adds to the overall insider-selling narrative. SEC filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Other insider sales came from COO Kwang Hooi Tan, insider Michael P. Hartung, and CAO Daniel Wendler, all similarly framed as equity-compensation-related selling. SEC filing

Insider Transactions at Flex

In related news, CAO Daniel Wendler sold 1,579 shares of Flex stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.64, for a total value of $233,123.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 33,417 shares in the company, valued at $4,933,685.88. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevin Krumm sold 3,378 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.01, for a total transaction of $499,977.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 151,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,390,952.80. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 433,924 shares of company stock valued at $61,663,653 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Profile

Flex NASDAQ: FLEX, formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.

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