Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Stake Lifted by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 59.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,800 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,260,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $108,708,000 after buying an additional 76,338 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,287,000 after buying an additional 12,285 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $78,894,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 714,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $49,222,000 after acquiring an additional 227,915 shares during the period. Finally, Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,623,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 31st. Freedom Capital started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.55.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $90.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.52 and a quick ratio of 3.05. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $59.74 and a one year high of $94.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.34 and a 200 day moving average of $77.22.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.08. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company had revenue of $416.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $410.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and distributes disposable products used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Its devices are designed for use by healthcare professionals in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other clinical settings.

The company’s product portfolio includes devices for vascular access, angiography, intervention, drainage, embolization, oncology and cardiac procedures. Merit also offers products used in peripheral intervention, spine procedures and other specialized areas of minimally invasive medicine, including kits, accessories and related procedural equipment.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical serves healthcare providers through a global commercial and manufacturing network.