Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Short Interest Update

Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 517,400 shares, an increase of 21.9% from the August 31st total of 424,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 148,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Plexus Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Plexus stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $136.30. 67,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 128,227. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $124.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.38. Plexus has a 1-year low of $87.21 and a 1-year high of $138.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other Plexus news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total value of $64,010.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,199.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Plexus news, Director Karen Marie Rapp sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.02, for a total transaction of $64,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,227,199.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.75, for a total transaction of $123,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 87,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,769,467.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,769 shares of company stock valued at $2,731,834. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plexus

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Plexus by 0.7% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,800 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plexus by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,425 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased 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 period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plexus by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,710 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Plexus by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 21,537 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,222,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

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.