StockNews.com Lowers Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) to Hold

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MMSI. Baird R W upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.20.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $85.85 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $87.44. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.96.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The business had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems 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 transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,235. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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 MMSI. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake 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 valued at $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $38,165,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,151,000 after purchasing an additional 248,140 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,022,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 131,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.