Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Earns "Buy" Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $162.00 target price on the technology company's stock, down from their prior target price of $172.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 target price on Plexus in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.67.

Plexus Stock Down 2.8 %

PLXS traded down $3.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.32. The company had a trading volume of 55,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 166,359. Plexus has a 52 week low of $99.79 and a 52 week high of $172.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $125.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.06.

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

Insider Activity at Plexus

In other Plexus news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $496,814.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,281,775.14. This trade represents a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.62, for a total value of $173,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,879.12. This represents a 49.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,597 shares of company stock valued at $2,066,030. 1.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Plexus by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 776 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Plexus by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Plexus by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,907 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Plexus by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 891 shares of the technology company's stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plexus Company 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.