Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Research Coverage Started at Robert W. Baird

Analysts at Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.05% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. CL King assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $83.44 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $85.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.43.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Renaissance Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 24,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 6.5% during the first quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 3.0% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 10.3% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.