Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Barrington Research upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. CL King started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $1.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $78.97. The company had a trading volume of 263,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,416. The firm has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems has a one year low of $62.58 and a one year high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 3.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.15.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The business had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $1,380,476.71. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 49,637 shares of company stock worth $3,751,673 over the last three months. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $268,881,000 after purchasing an additional 520,423 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,275,000 after buying an additional 506,992 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,165,000. abrdn plc purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $24,446,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 248,140 shares during the period. 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.