Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $76.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.26 and a 200-day moving average of $73.99. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.30, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.89. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. Merit Medical Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673 over the last quarter. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Company Profile

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.