Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Key Points

• Mercury Systems was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from “buy” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst picture for the stock.
• Other firms have been more positive recently: Truist and Zacks Research upgraded the name, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs maintained more cautious views with different price targets. Overall, MarketBeat shows a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $95.78.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected earnings, posting $0.27 EPS versus $0.06 expected and revenue of $235.76 million, up 11.5% year over year. Despite that, insiders have been selling shares, including a director and EVP, with $1.73 million in insider sales over the past 90 days.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

MRCY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Mercury Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Mercury Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Mercury Systems from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Mercury Systems from $102.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Mercury Systems from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mercury Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.78.

Mercury Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MRCY opened at $96.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -400.33 and a beta of 0.93. Mercury Systems has a 12 month low of $50.13 and a 12 month high of $128.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $107.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.21. Mercury Systems had a negative net margin of 1.46% and a positive return on equity of 2.22%. The firm had revenue of $235.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.56 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mercury Systems will post 0.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Mercury Systems

In related news, Director Orlando D. Carvalho sold 7,000 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.36, for a total value of $625,520.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,686,753.28. The trade was a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Ratner sold 2,000 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $184,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,980,725.48. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 18,250 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,220 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MRCY. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $755,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Mercury Systems by 51.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 855,441 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,861,000 after purchasing an additional 290,989 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Mercury Systems by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 159,617 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,878,000 after purchasing an additional 18,916 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Mercury Systems by 161.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,769 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 31,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 30.3% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,973 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,731,000 after buying an additional 29,057 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.99% of the company's stock.

Mercury Systems Company Profile

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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