Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 36.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,043 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.3% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,053,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,445,000 after purchasing an additional 10,512 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,250,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $193,419,000 after acquiring an additional 75,885 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 131,977 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,543,000 after acquiring an additional 22,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 634,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $54,545,000 after purchasing an additional 377,851 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $94.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 6.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $101.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.94 million. Research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased 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, July 2nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Baird R W raised Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.82.

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.