Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Flex from $154.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Flex from $142.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Flex from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Flex from $175.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Flex from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.78.

Flex Price Performance

NASDAQ FLEX opened at $88.10 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.06. Flex has a 52-week low of $53.07 and a 52-week high of $166.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $32.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.80.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The technology company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.12. Flex had a net margin of 3.35% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $8.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Flex will post 4.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Flex

In related news, insider Michael P. Hartung sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.64, for a total value of $332,363.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 243,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,336,632. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Flex

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Flex by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,587 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 7,333 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Flex by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 45,576 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 8,972 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Flex by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 52,180 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,056 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in Flex by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Flex during the third quarter worth about $2,284,000. 94.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Flex

Flex Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX) is a global manufacturing and supply chain solutions provider. The company helps original equipment manufacturers design, engineer, manufacture, distribute and service products across their lifecycles.

Flex serves customers in industries including automotive, communications, consumer electronics, health care, industrial, lifestyle and cloud infrastructure. Its capabilities include product design and engineering, printed circuit board assembly, systems integration, supply chain management, logistics, and aftermarket services.

The company was founded in 1969 as Flextronics and later adopted the name Flex.