Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.70.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MMSI shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, December 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMSI. National Bank of Canada FI bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter valued at about $77,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 61,742 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,217 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $289,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.1% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 51,594 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 2.4 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $98.14 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a one year low of $70.70 and a one year high of $108.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 48.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.24.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.