Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Earns Overweight Rating from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $120.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $122.00 to $116.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.70.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $103.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.06. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.95, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $111.45.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total transaction of $1,230,283.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,391,300.81. This represents a 33.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.