Plexus' (PLXS) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Benchmark

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by analysts at Benchmark in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $160.00 target price on the technology company's stock. Benchmark's target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.68% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PLXS. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $162.00 price target (down from $172.00) on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.67.

Plexus Price Performance

PLXS stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.49. 89,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 168,844. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 0.80. Plexus has a twelve month low of $100.96 and a twelve month high of $172.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $980.17 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $980.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plexus will post 5.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.87, for a total transaction of $194,805.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 75,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,768,042.18. This represents a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 4,328 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.29, for a total transaction of $572,551.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 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. Insiders have sold a total of 12,032 shares of company stock valued at $1,582,222 over the last ninety days. 1.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 134.0% during the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 1,000.0% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Plexus during the first quarter valued at about $71,000. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.