Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $236,000 Investment in Mercury Systems Inc $MRCY

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC invested approximately $236,000 in Mercury Systems Inc, purchasing 4,390 shares during the second quarter.
• Analysts have set various ratings for Mercury Systems, with Canaccord Genuity issuing a "buy" rating and a target price of $88.00, while the average price target is currently at $73.89.
• Insider selling activity includes EVP David E. Farnsworth and CEO William L. Ballhaus, who sold shares on August 19th, reducing their ownership by 4.48% and 3.36%, respectively.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,390 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercury Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $9,068,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 11,100 shares of the technology company's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Mercury Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $110,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,232 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Mercury Systems by 25.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,322 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. 95.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Mercury Systems from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Mercury Systems from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Mercury Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $55.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mercury Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David E. Farnsworth sold 7,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.46, for a total value of $488,091.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 161,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,399,073.96. The trade was a 4.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO William L. Ballhaus sold 13,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.46, for a total value of $841,203.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 374,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,170,952.96. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 848,980 shares of company stock worth $55,529,247. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mercury Systems Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ MRCY opened at $77.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 2.41 and a current ratio of 3.52. Mercury Systems Inc has a 1 year low of $32.32 and a 1 year high of $85.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.34. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.82, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.82.

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