Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) CEO Sells $1,930,800.00 in Stock

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total transaction of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,066,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $94.82 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.02 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average of $100.30. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.11.

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.