Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Barrington Research reissued an outperform rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Baird R W raised Merit Medical Systems to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an outperform rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $100.55.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $98.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 6.24 and a quick ratio of 4.64. Merit Medical Systems has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $100.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.20 and a 200 day moving average of $82.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.94 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,235. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 0.3% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,053,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,512 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,250,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $193,419,000 after acquiring an additional 75,885 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,306,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,258,000 after acquiring an additional 41,065 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,685,000 after acquiring an additional 131,977 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,543,000 after purchasing an additional 22,077 shares in 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.