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

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.55.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $98.71. The company had a trading volume of 429,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,521. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.82. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a current ratio of 6.24. Merit Medical Systems has a twelve month low of $62.58 and a twelve month high of $100.32.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.94 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 15.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.