Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $100.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MMSI. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an outperform rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $96.20.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.0 %

MMSI stock opened at $86.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.85. The company has a market cap of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03. Merit Medical Systems has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $87.44.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $1,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,235. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $1,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction 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 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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MMSI. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $38,165,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,151,000 after acquiring an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth $14,022,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,685,000 after acquiring an additional 131,977 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.