4,606 Shares in Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plexus Corp. (NASDAQ:PLXS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,606 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Plexus during the 4th quarter worth about $107,489,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $332,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 139.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,786 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,669,000 after acquiring an additional 28,406 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plexus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $683,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plexus by 614.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,941 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 11,989 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.45% of the company’s stock.

Plexus Price Performance

Shares of Plexus stock opened at $128.21 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.39. Plexus Corp. has a 12 month low of $90.87 and a 12 month high of $172.89.

Plexus (NASDAQ:PLXS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Plexus Corp. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Plexus news, CAO Angelo Michael Ninivaggi, Jr. sold 3,423 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.14, for a total value of $496,814.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,501 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,281,775.14. The trade was a 10.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Todd P. Kelsey sold 1,500 shares of Plexus stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.39, for a total value of $234,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 74,271 shares in the company, valued at $11,615,241.69. This trade represents a 1.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,458 shares of company stock valued at $2,786,515 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Plexus in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Plexus in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $152.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Plexus from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.00.

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.