AlphaQuest LLC Acquires New Position in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS)

AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,691 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,516,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PLXS. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at about $107,489,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Plexus in the fourth quarter valued at about $15,892,000. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in Plexus by 2.8% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 2,168,512 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $296,457,000 after buying an additional 59,465 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Plexus by 1,546.5% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 45,790 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,260,000 after buying an additional 43,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Plexus by 139.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after buying an additional 28,406 shares during the last quarter. 94.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Plexus

In related news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total transaction of $496,814.22. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,281,775.14. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Frank Zycinski sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $169,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,827.32. The trade was a 62.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,458 shares of company stock worth $2,786,515. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PLXS. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Plexus in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $152.00 target price for the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Plexus in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Plexus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Plexus has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

Plexus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLXS opened at $124.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.83. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 0.90. Plexus Corp. has a 12-month low of $90.18 and a 12-month high of $172.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 3.03%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Plexus 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.