Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $170.49, but opened at $150.50. Plexus shares last traded at $159.00, with a volume of 31,678 shares trading hands.

The technology company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.59 by ($0.10). Plexus had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on PLXS shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Plexus from $136.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Plexus from $144.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plexus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Victor (Pang Hau) Tan sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.90, for a total transaction of $497,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,605 shares in the company, valued at $929,869.50. This represents a 34.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael J. Running sold 539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.87, for a total transaction of $84,013.93. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $160,546.10. This represents a 34.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,091 shares of company stock valued at $5,377,960. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plexus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLXS. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Plexus by 573.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Plexus in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Plexus in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Plexus in the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Plexus in the 4th quarter worth $56,000. 94.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Plexus Stock Down 10.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.25.

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.