Canaccord Genuity Group Cuts Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target to $102.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price objective lowered by Canaccord Genuity Group from $112.00 to $102.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. 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 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 3.95. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of Merit Medical Systems 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 owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,116,000 after acquiring an additional 42,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 period. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 97,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,755,000 after buying an additional 14,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% in the third 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 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.