Zacks Research Upgrades Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) to Strong-Buy

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

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on FLEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Flex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Flex from $72.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Flex from $84.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Flex from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.80.

Flex Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ FLEX opened at $143.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.84. The company has a market cap of $52.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.63 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Flex has a 12-month low of $40.15 and a 12-month high of $147.34.

Flex (NASDAQ:FLEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Flex had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The business had revenue of $7.48 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that Flex will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Flex

In other news, EVP David Scott Offer sold 22,212 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.40, for a total transaction of $3,162,988.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 74,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,669,462.40. This trade represents a 22.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Revathi Advaithi sold 114,090 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.37, for a total transaction of $16,242,993.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 689,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,096,062.14. This represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 223,512 shares of company stock worth $30,283,218. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Flex

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Flex by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,746,330 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,341,053,000 after buying an additional 25,662,586 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Flex by 17.7% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 2,393,463 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $138,749,000 after buying an additional 360,553 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Flex by 80.1% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,602 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,528,000 after buying an additional 19,388 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd bought a new position in shares of Flex in the fourth quarter valued at $2,497,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in shares of Flex in the third quarter valued at $1,460,000. 94.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Flex Company Profile

Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX), formerly known as Flextronics, is a global provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM). The company offers end-to-end product lifecycle solutions including product design and engineering, prototyping, volume manufacturing, testing, and aftermarket services. Its offerings extend into supply chain management, component sourcing, logistics and distribution, and advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automation and digital manufacturing to support customers from concept through end-of-life.

Flex serves a broad range of industries, including automotive, healthcare, industrial, communications, and consumer electronics, working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and technology companies to accelerate time to market and manage complex supply chains.