Wall Street Zen Downgrades Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) to Buy

Key Points

• Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts have set price targets ranging from $140 to $160, with a consensus price target of $152.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• In the most recent quarterly earnings report, Plexus exceeded earnings expectations with $1.90 earnings per share, marking a 6.0% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PLXS. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Sidoti raised shares of Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.00.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLXS traded down $2.27 on Friday, hitting $128.71. 110,226 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 207,446. Plexus has a 1-year low of $103.43 and a 1-year high of $172.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $132.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.93 and a beta of 0.80.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Plexus has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.820-1.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Plexus will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Oliver K. Mihm sold 2,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.43, for a total transaction of $274,163.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,759,246.65. This trade represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.68, for a total transaction of $263,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,101,699.52. This trade represents a 2.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,484 shares of company stock valued at $1,756,335 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Plexus by 49.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,333 shares of the technology company's stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the first quarter worth about $917,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the first quarter worth about $285,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Plexus by 22.8% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 47,997 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,150,000 after acquiring an additional 8,921 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Plexus in the first quarter worth about $121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company's stock.

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.