Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target Cut to $85.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price objective cut by Needham & Company LLC from $88.00 to $85.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. CL King initiated coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a buy rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 6.03. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $85.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.19 and a 200-day moving average of $74.15.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Renaissance Group LLC lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 24,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 28,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,993,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 3,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 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.