Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.50.

A number of research firms recently commented on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock worth $5,351,673 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,116,000 after buying an additional 42,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after purchasing an additional 125,605 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,797,000 after purchasing an additional 87,711 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 97,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,755,000 after purchasing an additional 14,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after buying an additional 24,788 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $72.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.50. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.79 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions.