Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Stock

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $136.00 to $150.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 9.97% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PLXS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp began coverage on Plexus in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Plexus from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.25.

Plexus Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLXS opened at $166.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.55 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.51. Plexus has a fifty-two week low of $90.18 and a fifty-two week high of $170.07.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.30. Plexus had a return on equity of 9.51% and a net margin of 2.82%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Plexus’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Plexus will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In other Plexus news, insider Michael J. Running sold 539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total transaction of $84,013.93. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,546.10. This trade represents a 34.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Patrick John Jermain sold 5,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.13, for a total value of $722,090.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,521,284.26. This trade represents a 17.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,591 shares of company stock worth $5,143,375 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Plexus by 573.5% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Plexus by 36,700.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Plexus in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Plexus in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Plexus during the third quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Company Profile

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.