Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Downgraded by StockNews.com

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.55.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $98.71. The company had a trading volume of 429,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 449,521. Merit Medical Systems has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $100.32. 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 company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.73, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.82.

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $1,062,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,235. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $2,427,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,424,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,306,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $99,258,000 after acquiring an additional 41,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.