Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $169.56 and last traded at $169.26, with a volume of 6697 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PLXS. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Plexus from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plexus has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.50.

Plexus Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.61.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.19, for a total value of $448,863.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 35,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,093,223.37. This represents a 8.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 539 shares of the 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 directly owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $160,546.10. This trade represents a 34.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,591 shares of company stock worth $5,143,375. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Plexus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Plexus by 0.7% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,800 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Plexus by 4.4% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,453 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Plexus by 1.9% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. grew its stake in Plexus by 0.7% during the third quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 21,692 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.