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

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $107.00.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MMSI. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $85.38 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.12. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $604,391.45. The trade was a 21.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at $102,914,343.12. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,679,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,638,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,926,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $200,833,000 after acquiring an additional 499,193 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.