Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a neutral rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Finally, CL King initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $93.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

MMSI opened at $73.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.52 and a 200-day moving average of $73.76. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.45.

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

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Group LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 24,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 28,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

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.