Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $73.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 45.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.68. Merit Medical Systems has a 12-month low of $62.58 and a 12-month high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $324.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $320.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 520,423 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,165,000. abrdn plc acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,446,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,151,000 after purchasing an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.