Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Stock Price Down 7.7% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Mercury Systems shares fell 7.7% to $93.45 after insider selling, with trading volume down 48% from the average session.
• CEO William Ballhaus and EVP David Farnsworth sold approximately $3.9 million of stock in August; the SEC filings said the transactions covered tax withholding related to vested equity awards.
• Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and bookings exceeded expectations, but adjusted EPS fell short at $0.37 and declined year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $110.10.

Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 7.7% on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $93.45 and last traded at $93.45. Approximately 344,374 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 667,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $101.25.

Specifically, CEO William L. Ballhaus sold 24,144 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.36, for a total value of $2,688,675.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 277,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,847,722.24. This trade represents a 8.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William L. Ballhaus sold 3,536 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.95, for a total transaction of $388,783.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 301,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,111,772.35. This represents a 1.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In other news, EVP David E. Farnsworth sold 7,347 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.36, for a total transaction of $818,161.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 132,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,781,258.24. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Mercury Systems to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Mercury Systems from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $128.00 price objective on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.10.

Mercury Systems News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Mercury Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mercury Systems reported record fiscal fourth-quarter bookings of approximately $660 million, up 93.1% year over year, and backlog above $1.9 billion, up 38.4%. The 2.28 book-to-bill ratio supports stronger future revenue visibility as production ramps. Mercury Systems Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue increased 6.1% to about $290 million, exceeding the roughly $266 million consensus estimate. RBC raised its price target to $120, Baird to $130 and Piper Sandler to $131, citing the backlog and expectations for low-double-digit growth. Mercury Systems Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: A strategic alliance with Palantir Technologies NASDAQ: PLTR aims to automate material planning and factory operations for U.S. military programs. The partnership could improve Mercury’s manufacturing throughput and delivery timelines, although its financial impact has not yet been quantified. Mercury Systems and Palantir Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO William Ballhaus and several executives sold shares in August, with reported transactions totaling roughly $4.7 million. The filings say the sales covered tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, reducing their importance as a bearish signal; however, no insider purchases were reported. Mercury Systems Insider Filings
• Negative Sentiment: Adjusted EPS was $0.37, below the $0.38 consensus and down from $0.47 a year earlier. GAAP EPS fell to $0.01 from $0.27, while adjusted EBITDA declined to $49 million from $51 million and free cash flow fell to $29 million from $34 million. The earnings-quality deterioration overshadowed the bookings and revenue beats. Mercury Systems EPS Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Mercury’s fixed-price contracts expose margins to volatility in advanced semiconductor and component costs. Rising input expenses may pressure profitability before the company can adjust pricing or supply arrangements. Mercury Systems Contract Risk

Mercury Systems Stock Down 7.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -188.18 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $108.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.87.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 18th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). Mercury Systems had a positive return on equity of 1.29% and a negative net margin of 3.02%.The firm had revenue of $289.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Mercury Systems Inc will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MRCY. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mercury Systems in the first quarter valued at $755,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mercury Systems by 51.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 855,441 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,861,000 after acquiring an additional 290,989 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 13.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 18,916 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercury Systems by 161.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,769 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 31,337 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Mercury Systems by 30.3% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 124,973 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,731,000 after acquiring an additional 29,057 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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