Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $580,000 in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,866 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth about $44,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth about $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 142.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $101.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.46 and a 52-week high of $105.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.80 and a 200-day moving average of $89.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This trade represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.36.

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.