Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given New $128.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its target price increased by Canaccord Genuity Group from $127.00 to $128.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

MMSI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.80.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $108.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.18, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. Merit Medical Systems has a twelve month low of $70.70 and a twelve month high of $110.61. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $101.27 and a 200 day moving average of $96.96.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,910,000 after buying an additional 6,837 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $56,921,000 after buying an additional 265,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 7,367 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.