by Daniel Shvartsman
Investing.com - Mercury Systems (NASDAQ:MRCY) shares spiked nearly 10% in Thursday trading after activist firm Jana Partners filed a 13D revealing a 6.6% stake in the business.
The aerospace and defense contractor was up 9% Thursday afternoon, approaching levels not seen since the company's widely panned August earnings report.
Jana's 13D filing showed the firm has been building their stake in Mercury Systems for nearly two months. While the stated reasons for the position were fairly generic - aims of talks with management to consider ways to maximize shareholder value, "including evaluating strategic alternatives including a sale of the Issuer, operations, capital allocation, corporate governance, board composition, and compensation practices" - Bloomberg reported that Jana would push for a strategic review including a potential sale. Jana's recent successes on this front include pushing for sales of CyrusOne (NASDAQ:CONE), Vonage Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:VG), and Perspecta (NYSE:PRSP).
Mercury Systems has yet to comment on the news. The company's shares are down 37% for the year, valuing the company at $3.1B market cap.