Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Reaches New 1-Year High at $85.37

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.37 and last traded at $84.82, with a volume of 38851 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MMSI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,797,000 after purchasing an additional 87,711 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after buying an additional 125,605 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 719,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $49,675,000 after buying an additional 11,967 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 171.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 15,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,103,000 after buying an additional 10,088 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 26,617 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,837,000 after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.