Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,116 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $399,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLXS. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Plexus by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Plexus by 1,000.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 185.6% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plexus during the 1st quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Plexus by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 846 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In other news, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total value of $572,551.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,637 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,391,518.73. The trade was a 14.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.68, for a total value of $263,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,714 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,101,699.52. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,710 shares of company stock valued at $2,054,722. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus Stock Up 1.4%

Plexus stock traded up $1.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $129.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 109,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,382. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.93. Plexus Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $103.43 and a fifty-two week high of $172.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Plexus had a net margin of 4.04% and a return on equity of 12.33%. The firm's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PLXS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Plexus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price target on Plexus in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Sidoti raised Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Plexus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.00.

About Plexus

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.