Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Takes $4.88 Million Position in Flex Ltd. $FLEX

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA initiated a new position in Flex during the first quarter, buying 74,545 shares worth about $4.88 million.
• Flex continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 94.30% of the company; Vanguard and Norges Bank were among the notable large holders mentioned.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Flex receiving a Moderate Buy rating and several firms sharply raising price targets, while the stock recently traded near $136.85 after posting quarterly EPS of $0.93 on revenue of $7.48 billion.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new position in shares of Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ:FLEX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,545 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,880,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FLEX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flex by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after acquiring an additional 25,662,586 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Flex in the fourth quarter valued at $319,756,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new stake in Flex in the fourth quarter valued at $2,497,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Flex by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 173,277 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,469,000 after purchasing an additional 19,270 shares during the period. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Flex in the 4th quarter worth $794,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FLEX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Flex from $174.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Flex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on Flex in a report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Flex from $75.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Flex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.70.

Flex Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FLEX opened at $136.85 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.11. Flex Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $47.83 and a fifty-two week high of $166.86. The company has a market capitalization of $50.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 1.64. 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 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter. Flex had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 3.15%. Analysts expect that Flex Ltd. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Flex

In related news, CAO Daniel Wendler sold 1,311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.20, for a total value of $190,357.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,932 shares in the company, valued at $5,507,726.40. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Kwang Hooi Tan sold 8,981 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.19, for a total transaction of $1,303,951.39. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 248,546 shares in the company, valued at $36,086,393.74. This trade represents a 3.49% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 769,195 shares of company stock valued at $110,116,823. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Flex Company 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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