Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Takes Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,061 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $199,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,433,000 after acquiring an additional 168,174 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after acquiring an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 price objective on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MMSI opened at $94.76 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.67 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.16 and a 200 day moving average of $100.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS 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.