Insider Selling: Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Chairman Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Chairman Fred Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $1,702,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,054,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $89,808,319.15. This trade represents a 1.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.64. The stock had a trading volume of 137,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,149. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.61. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.12 and a 1 year high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $384.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $371.69 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.660-3.790 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $104.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $109.00 price target (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MMSI. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $134,517,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 377.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,240,509 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $103,248,000 after acquiring an additional 980,823 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $80,679,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter valued at $53,697,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 250.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 750,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $62,428,000 after buying an additional 536,072 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.