Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $120.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.70.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $103.94 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 1-year low of $70.70 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.30 and a 200-day moving average of $101.06.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. The trade was a 39.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,638,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $155,879,000 after purchasing an additional 649,799 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth $48,926,000. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,688,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,057,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.