Bailard Inc. Cuts Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Bailard Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.6 %

Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.85. 68,911 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 486,133. The business’s 50 day moving average is $74.63 and its 200 day moving average is $73.68. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $85.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.50.

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.