Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 448,747 Shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Plexus Corp. by 65.3%, selling 448,747 shares and leaving them with approximately 0.88% of the company's stock valued at $30.5 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors raised their holdings in Plexus, with Aquatic Capital Management LLC leading with a 134.0% increase in the fourth quarter.
• Plexus reported earnings of $1.90 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.19, and had a revenue of $1.02 billion.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,169 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 448,747 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of Plexus worth $30,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PLXS. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 49.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,333 shares of the technology company's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Plexus during the first quarter worth $917,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Plexus in the first quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $928,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Plexus by 170.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 8,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PLXS shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Sidoti upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plexus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $153.25.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other Plexus news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 $10,101,699.52. The trade was a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total transaction of $572,551.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 25,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,391,518.73. This represents a 14.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Plexus Stock Up 4.2%

PLXS traded up $4.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.25. 577,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 202,126. The stock has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 0.80. Plexus Corp. has a twelve month low of $103.43 and a twelve month high of $172.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $133.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.58.

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

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.