Flex price target raised to $48 from $40 at Stifel

Stifel raised the firm’s price target on Flex (FLEX) to $48 from $40 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm notes the group of eight North American-based Electronic Manufacturing Services stocks is up 45% year-to-date in aggregate, well ahead of the S&P, and says the outperformance has been driven by significant multiple expansion that it attributes to continued improved end-market mix, margin expansion and, most notably, growing demand from hyperscale cloud customers. Despite the multiple expansion, the firm remains positive on Celestica (CLS), Flex and Jabil (JBL) and maintains Buy rating on all three names, given the growth opportunities not just in cloud but also across broader industrial markets, the analyst added.