Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 105,102 Shares of Mercury Systems Inc $MRCY

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital sold 105,102 shares, trimming its stake by 4.6% to 2,174,807 shares (about 3.62% of Mercury and valued at ~$158.8M), making MRCY its 12th largest holding.
• Q4 results beat expectations: Mercury reported $0.16 EPS vs. $0.07 est. and revenue of $232.9M vs. $210.0M est., with revenue up 4.4% year-over-year, though the company still shows a negative net margin and a negative P/E.
• Significant insider and institutional activity: insiders sold 863,383 shares (~$74.8M) over the quarter, institutional ownership is ~95.99%, and analysts give a mixed view (average rating "Hold" with an average price target of $86.33).

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,174,807 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 105,102 shares during the quarter. Mercury Systems makes up approximately 2.7% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned about 3.62% of Mercury Systems worth $158,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 292,098 shares of the technology company's stock worth $21,326,000 after acquiring an additional 70,233 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,241 shares of the technology company's stock worth $602,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 251,229 shares of the technology company's stock worth $18,342,000 after acquiring an additional 10,880 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,211 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 6,562.5% during the fourth quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 142,178 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,380,000 after acquiring an additional 140,044 shares during the last quarter. 95.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mercury Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRCY opened at $78.91 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $81.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.37. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -148.89, a P/E/G ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.84. Mercury Systems Inc has a 52 week low of $44.01 and a 52 week high of $103.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $232.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.96 million. Mercury Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.28% and a negative net margin of 3.23%.Mercury Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury Systems Inc will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mercury Systems

In related news, EVP Stuart Kupinsky sold 2,287 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $191,101.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,010 shares in the company, valued at $5,682,915.60. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Howard L. Lance sold 4,832 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.98, for a total value of $429,951.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,426,662.56. This represents a 15.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 863,383 shares of company stock valued at $74,789,584 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRCY shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mercury Systems from $102.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Mercury Systems from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $102.00 price target on Mercury Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Mercury Systems from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.33.

About Mercury Systems

Mercury Systems, Inc NASDAQ: MRCY is a technology company that designs, manufactures and markets secure processing subsystems for aerospace and defense applications. The company's products are built to address the stringent security, safety and reliability requirements of mission-critical programs, with a focus on radar, electronic warfare, intelligence and other sensor and processing functions. Mercury's offerings encompass rugged embedded computing modules, high-performance radio frequency (RF) and microwave components, digital signal processing subsystems and secure networking solutions.

Since its origins in advanced signal processing, Mercury Systems has expanded its capabilities through a combination of internal development and targeted acquisitions.

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