Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Shares Up 9.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Mercury Systems shares jumped 9.5% in Tuesday trading, reaching as high as $120 and far outpacing its recent volume, though the move came on lighter-than-average trading.
• Recent earnings were better than expected, with the company reporting $0.27 EPS versus a $0.06 estimate and revenue of $235.76 million, up 11.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally constructive: ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell, and the stock currently carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $91.

Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) traded up 9.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $120.00 and last traded at $120.7360. 366,781 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 666,647 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upgraded Mercury Systems to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Mercury Systems in a research report on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Mercury Systems from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercury Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.00.

Mercury Systems Stock Up 9.8%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.15. The company has a quick ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $7.27 billion, a PE ratio of -504.95 and a beta of 0.94.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $235.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.56 million. Mercury Systems had a positive return on equity of 2.22% and a negative net margin of 1.46%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mercury Systems Inc will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mercury Systems

In other news, Director Howard L. Lance sold 9,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.76, for a total value of $922,780.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven Ratner sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $184,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 32,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,980,725.48. The trade was a 5.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 21,875 shares of company stock valued at $2,040,874 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRCY. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Mercury Systems by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 804 shares of the technology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Mercury Systems by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 7,714 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,781 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,058 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $880,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Mercury Systems by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,211 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 95.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mercury Systems

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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