abrdn plc Grows Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

abrdn plc grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 400,521 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,335 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned 0.69% of Merit Medical Systems worth $30,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $268,881,000 after buying an additional 520,423 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,031,173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,172,000 after purchasing an additional 212,256 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,022,000. Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,782,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after buying an additional 125,605 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the director now owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $73.25 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.22, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $74.95 and a 200 day moving average of $73.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 3.95. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merit Medical Systems 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.