Needham & Company LLC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $109.00 to $122.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.62% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.80.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.7 %

MMSI stock opened at $110.29 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $70.70 and a 12 month high of $111.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.36 and its 200 day moving average is $97.04. The company has a market capitalization of $6.43 billion, a PE ratio of 54.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during 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.