Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.20.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 target price 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 research report on Friday, June 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $85.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $88.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.12. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.85, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,235. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 29,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,219,000 after buying an additional 11,512 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $2,427,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $3,424,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth $1,083,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 9,921 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.