Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Position Lifted by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 84.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 784 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 9,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 2,732 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,009 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $210,000. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 4,475 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Freedom Capital initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.55.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 7.7%

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $90.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a current ratio of 4.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.56. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.74 and a 52-week high of $94.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.22.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.08. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 14.12%. The firm had revenue of $416.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merit Medical Systems Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and distributes disposable products used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Its devices are designed for use by healthcare professionals in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other clinical settings.

The company’s product portfolio includes devices for vascular access, angiography, intervention, drainage, embolization, oncology and cardiac procedures. Merit also offers products used in peripheral intervention, spine procedures and other specialized areas of minimally invasive medicine, including kits, accessories and related procedural equipment.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical serves healthcare providers through a global commercial and manufacturing network.