Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Rating Increased to Buy at Sidoti

Key Points

• Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) has been upgraded by Sidoti from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, with a new target price of $150.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.81% from the previous close.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.90 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a 6.0% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue.
• Insider selling has been noted, with CEO Todd P. Kelsey selling 1,500 shares, decreasing his ownership by 1.96%, while insiders have collectively sold 12,032 shares in the last ninety days.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Sidoti from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $150.00 target price on the technology company's stock, up from their previous target price of $135.00. Sidoti's price target points to a potential upside of 26.81% from the stock's previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Plexus from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $145.00 price objective on Plexus in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Plexus from $162.00 to $158.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.25.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of Plexus stock opened at $118.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $133.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.03. Plexus has a 12 month low of $103.43 and a 12 month high of $172.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Plexus had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 4.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Plexus will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.87, for a total value of $194,805.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 75,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,768,042.18. The trade was a 1.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.77, for a total value of $65,385.00. Following the sale, the director owned 9,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,224,661.05. This trade represents a 5.07% 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 in the last ninety days. 1.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Plexus by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 234 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 320 shares of the technology company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 1,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 185.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Plexus in the 1st quarter worth $71,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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