Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) Shares Up 6% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Mercury Systems shares rose 6% to roughly $85.87, though trading volume was 68% below the average daily level.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Truist, RBC and Guggenheim issued bullish ratings, while JPMorgan remained neutral. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $110.55.
• Quarterly revenue increased 6.1% year over year to $289.78 million and exceeded estimates, but EPS of $0.37 narrowly missed expectations and declined from $0.47 a year earlier. Insiders have sold about $41.8 million of shares over the past 90 days.

Mercury Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $83.57 and last traded at $85.8710. Approximately 217,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 675,823 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRCY shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Mercury Systems from $109.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Mercury Systems from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Mercury Systems from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Mercury Systems in a research note on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mercury Systems from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.55.

Mercury Systems Trading Up 7.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of -174.42 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 18th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). Mercury Systems had a negative net margin of 3.02% and a positive return on equity of 1.29%. The business had revenue of $289.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mercury Systems Inc will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mercury Systems

In other news, EVP David Farnsworth sold 6,612 shares of Mercury Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.67, for a total value of $645,794.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,967 shares in the company, valued at $11,521,836.89. The trade was a 5.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Stuart Kupinsky sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.23, for a total transaction of $95,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 56,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,366,400.96. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 450,186 shares of company stock worth $41,770,650. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercury Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Mercury Systems during the second quarter valued at $87,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Mercury Systems by 250.8% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 463 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $265,000. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its position in shares of Mercury Systems by 92.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 11,338 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 5,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mercury Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $376,000. 95.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury Systems Company Profile

Mercury Systems, Inc is a technology company that develops and manufactures secure, high-performance computing and sensor-processing solutions for the aerospace and defense industries. Its products are designed for use in mission-critical applications where ruggedness, rapid data processing, cybersecurity and long operational life are essential.

The company's offerings include embedded computing systems, digital signal processing technologies, radio-frequency and microwave components, avionics systems, sensor-processing solutions, electronic warfare technology and secure communications products.

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.