Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.78.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barrington Research lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. CL King assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $452,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,797,000 after buying an additional 87,711 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,956,000 after acquiring an additional 125,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 24,788 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $82.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.42 and a 200-day moving average of $77.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 47.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems has a one year low of $62.58 and a one year high of $85.18.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.