Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Trading 8.1% Higher - Here's Why

Key Points

• Mercury Systems shares rose 8.1% to about $104.98 in mid-day trading, although trading volume was 89% below the average session volume.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with earnings per share of $0.27 versus a $0.06 estimate and revenue of $235.76 million versus $208.56 million expected; revenue increased 11.5% year over year.
• Analysts collectively give the stock a “Moderate Buy” rating, but the $95.78 consensus price target is below its current price. Meanwhile, insiders sold 18,250 shares worth approximately $1.73 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 95.99% of the stock.

Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) shares shot up 8.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.99 and last traded at $104.9760. 72,826 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 657,548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRCY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Mercury Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Mercury Systems from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Mercury Systems in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Mercury Systems from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Mercury Systems from $102.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.78.

Mercury Systems Stock Up 8.6%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $108.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.08. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -439.85 and a beta of 0.95.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $235.76 million during 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 business's revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercury Systems Inc will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mercury Systems news, Director Orlando D. Carvalho sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.36, for a total transaction of $625,520.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,686,753.28. This represents a 11.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven Ratner sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $184,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,238 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,250 shares of company stock worth $1,733,220. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercury Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $755,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Mercury Systems by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 855,441 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,861,000 after buying an additional 290,989 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 period. 95.99% of the stock is owned by 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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