Nuveen LLC Acquires Shares of 203,095 Mercury Systems Inc $MRCY

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Mercury Systems Inc, buying 203,095 shares valued at approximately $8.75 million, representing about 0.34% of the company's stock.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings in Mercury Systems, leading to a total of 95.99% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Equity analysts are optimistic about Mercury Systems, with several raising their price targets significantly and issuing mostly strong buy and buy ratings based on recent positive earnings reports.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 203,095 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,751,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.34% of Mercury Systems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRCY. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Mercury Systems by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,023,508 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,987,000 after purchasing an additional 677,894 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Mercury Systems by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,258,186 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,305,000 after purchasing an additional 185,369 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mercury Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,258,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Mercury Systems by 190.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 151,476 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,362,000 after purchasing an additional 99,391 shares during the period. Finally, 13D Management LLC increased its position in Mercury Systems by 68.1% during the 4th quarter. 13D Management LLC now owns 221,015 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $9,283,000 after purchasing an additional 89,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.99% of the company's stock.

Mercury Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRCY traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.61. The company had a trading volume of 36,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,351. Mercury Systems Inc has a 1 year low of $32.32 and a 1 year high of $69.95. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $55.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.94. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The technology company reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $273.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.56 million. Mercury Systems had a positive return on equity of 0.58% and a negative net margin of 4.16%.The firm's revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Mercury Systems Inc will post -0.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercury Systems news, CEO William L. Ballhaus sold 13,050 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.46, for a total transaction of $841,203.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 374,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,170,952.96. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Ratner sold 7,000 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $446,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,155,151.76. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 850,752 shares of company stock worth $55,622,679 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Mercury Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Mercury Systems from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Mercury Systems from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Mercury Systems from $56.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Mercury Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $55.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.71.

Mercury Systems Company Profile

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.