Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $101.82.

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMSI. Baird R W upgraded Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.2 %

MMSI opened at $97.61 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $101.60. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 56.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 6.24, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.24 and a 200 day moving average of $84.26.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.94 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Truist Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $795,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,020 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $756,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,043 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 2,931 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 162.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 147,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,678,000 after acquiring an additional 91,400 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.