Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $109.11.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Barrington Research lowered their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. 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 target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of MMSI opened at $93.56 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 3.26, a current ratio of 4.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $82.62 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.54.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total transaction of $38,244.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,045,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,972,493.08. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total transaction of $2,049,987.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,363.21. This represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 in the last 90 days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.4% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.1% during the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.