Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $105.82 and last traded at $105.75, with a volume of 7765 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.03.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMSI. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

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 $98.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.65. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 51.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 36.4% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 22,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $718,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,147.3% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 7,228 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,543,000 after buying an additional 22,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 10.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,719,000 after buying an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

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.