Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. CL King assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Barrington Research raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $85.95 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $86.44. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.55. The company has a quick ratio of 4.38, a current ratio of 6.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,275,000 after buying an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $38,165,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 818.6% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 278,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,151,000 after buying an additional 248,140 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth $14,022,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,685,000 after buying an additional 131,977 shares in 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.