Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given New $97.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $95.00 to $97.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

MMSI has been the subject of several other research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. CL King initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 2.5 %

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.15. The company has a current ratio of 6.03, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Merit Medical Systems has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.62. The company has a market cap of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.