Mercury Systems Inc $MRCY Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Mercury Systems Inc by 12.6%, selling 676,515 shares and retaining approximately 4.7 million shares valued at $252.9 million.
• Insider trading saw notable activity, with Director Jana Partners Management selling 797,000 shares for over $52 million, while total insider sales reached $55.5 million in the last 90 days.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Mercury Systems, with price targets ranging from $39.00 to $100.00, reflecting a mix of ratings including two "Strong Buy," four "Buy," and two "Sell" designations.

William Blair Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,695,683 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 676,515 shares during the period. Mercury Systems comprises 0.7% of William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 7.86% of Mercury Systems worth $252,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Mercury Systems by 59.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,058 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Mercury Systems by 53.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,290 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in Mercury Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $110,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Mercury Systems by 43.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,489 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares during the period. 95.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jana Partners Management, Lp sold 797,000 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total transaction of $52,139,740.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,964,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $390,185,356.46. This trade represents a 11.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Stuart Kupinsky sold 1,220 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.46, for a total value of $78,641.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 70,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,531,344.62. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 848,980 shares of company stock valued at $55,529,247 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRCY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mercury Systems from $56.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mercury Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Mercury Systems from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Mercury Systems from $71.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.89.

Mercury Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRCY opened at $75.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of -114.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $72.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.56. Mercury Systems Inc has a 1-year low of $32.32 and a 1-year high of $85.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.41.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 7th. The technology company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter. Mercury Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.58% and a negative net margin of 4.16%.The business had revenue of $256.86 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercury Systems Inc will post -0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mercury Systems

Mercury Systems, Inc, a technology company, manufactures and sells components, products, modules, and subsystems for aerospace and defense industries in the United States, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Its products and solutions are deployed in approximately 300 programs with 25 defense contractors and commercial aviation customers.

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