Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 1,182 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $1,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 29,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 11,512 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $2,427,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $3,424,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $1,083,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $96.68 on Monday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $96.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 6.24 and a quick ratio of 4.64. The firm has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.56, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $88.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.20.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.94 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMSI. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price target for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.20.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares in the company, valued at $2,753,235. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems 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.