Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given “Outperform” Rating at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. Barrington Research currently has a $114.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.82.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $96.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.45, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 6.24 and a quick ratio of 4.64. Merit Medical Systems has a fifty-two week low of $63.13 and a fifty-two week high of $101.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $95.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.24.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.94 million. Analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,053,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $262,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,512 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.5% during the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,250,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $193,419,000 after buying an additional 75,885 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $66,685,000 after buying an additional 131,977 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,543,000 after buying an additional 22,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 634,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $54,545,000 after buying an additional 377,851 shares in the last quarter. 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.