Short Interest in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Increases By 19.5%

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 327,500 shares, a growth of 19.5% from the July 31st total of 274,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 138,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Plexus from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Plexus from $114.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Plexus presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.00.

Plexus Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of PLXS opened at $128.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.47. Plexus has a 52 week low of $87.21 and a 52 week high of $132.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.68 and a 200-day moving average of $105.70.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $960.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $981.32 million. Plexus had a return on equity of 9.64% and a net margin of 2.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Plexus will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Plexus

In other Plexus news, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.50, for a total value of $127,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,137.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $190,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 96,682 shares in the company, valued at $11,118,430. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.50, for a total transaction of $127,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,097,137.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,269 shares of company stock worth $2,667,824. Corporate insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Plexus by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Plexus by 1.9% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 72.3% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 348 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Plexus by 4.3% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,710 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Plexus by 0.8% during the second quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 21,537 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.