Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research lowered Plexus from “hold” to “strong sell” and issued a series of earnings estimates through FY2028.
• Despite that downgrade, other analysts remain more optimistic: Plexus still carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $229.17, while several firms recently reiterated buy/outperform ratings.
• Plexus recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.05 and revenue of $1.16 billion, both ahead of estimates; however, shares were trading down 0.8% in Wednesday trading.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Plexus' Q3 2026 earnings at $1.16 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.45 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.86 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $1.60 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.48 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $1.91 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $6.49 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $2.04 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $8.17 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on PLXS. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $275.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Plexus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on Plexus and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.17.

Plexus Trading Down 0.8%

PLXS opened at $256.38 on Wednesday. Plexus has a 12-month low of $115.35 and a 12-month high of $275.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a PE ratio of 37.48 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $228.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.62.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.13 billion. Plexus had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 12.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Plexus has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.180 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Plexus will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.45, for a total transaction of $805,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 74,888 shares in the company, valued at $20,103,683.60. The trade was a 3.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.59, for a total value of $97,795.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,535 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,669,360.65. The trade was a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,471 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,291 over the last three months. 1.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plexus

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLXS. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Plexus by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 3,178 shares of the technology company's stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Plexus by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 302 shares of the technology company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Plexus by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 3,940 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Plexus by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,175 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $908,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Uncommon Cents Investing LLC boosted its position in Plexus by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 9,925 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

Plexus Company Profile

Plexus Corp. NASDAQ: PLXS is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and precision engineered electronics solutions. Headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, the company partners with original equipment manufacturers across industries such as medical, industrial, aerospace and defense, computing, and communications. Plexus offers a full suite of services that span new product introduction, product lifecycle management, supply chain management, printed circuit board assembly, system integration, and aftermarket support.

Founded in 1979, Plexus has grown from a regional electronics assembler into a multinational organization with manufacturing and engineering centers across North America, Europe, and Asia.

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