Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Plexus shares gapped higher, opening at $249.44 versus a prior close of $237.61, before trading near $239.63.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and a $273 average price target; individual targets range as high as $330.
• Plexus exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.32 in EPS versus $2.13 expected and $1.30 billion in revenue, up 28.2% year over year. However, insiders have sold roughly $2.62 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $237.61, but opened at $249.44. Plexus shares last traded at $239.6340, with a volume of 91,562 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PLXS. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Plexus from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Plexus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Plexus from $280.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Sidoti upgraded Plexus from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $308.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.00.

Plexus Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $267.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.13 by $0.19. Plexus had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 4.03%.The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.2% on a year-over-year basis. Plexus has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.470-2.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Plexus Corp. will post 7.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plexus

In related news, Director Michael V. Schrock sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $1,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 40,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,090,475. This represents a 9.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.17, for a total transaction of $138,806.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,993.05. This represents a 43.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,510 shares of company stock worth $2,622,497 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Plexus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Plexus in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Plexus during the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 207.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 240 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Plexus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors own 94.45% of the company's stock.

About Plexus

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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