Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $107.70.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of MMSI opened at $98.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.11, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.24. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,142,000 after buying an additional 84,923 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $718,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,910,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,921,000 after purchasing an additional 265,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.