Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Mercury Systems has been downgraded from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen as part of their latest research note.
• Despite the downgrade, consensus ratings on the stock show a mix of optimism with two analysts rating it as Strong Buy and an average price target of $70.67.
• CEO William L. Ballhaus and EVP David E. Farnsworth sold shares of the company's stock recently, indicating a potential shift in insider confidence as they offloaded a combined value of approximately $1.33 million.

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MRCY. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Mercury Systems from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Mercury Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Mercury Systems from $60.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating 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 given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.67.

Mercury Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MRCY opened at $73.58 on Friday. Mercury Systems 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. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.48, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.41.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William L. Ballhaus sold 13,050 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 374,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,170,952.96. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David E. Farnsworth sold 7,572 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.46, for a total transaction of $488,091.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 161,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,399,073.96. This trade represents a 4.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 848,980 shares of company stock valued at $55,529,247 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Mercury Systems by 11.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 274,954 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 29,074 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $241,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $848,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 6,776.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 45,589 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,964,000 after purchasing an additional 44,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lisanti Capital Growth LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $2,562,000. 95.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.