Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on MMSI. Baird R W raised Merit Medical Systems to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have 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 “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.82.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $96.48 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $95.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.34. The company has a current ratio of 6.24, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 55.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $63.13 and a 12 month high of $101.60.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.94 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.02%. On average, equities analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,083,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in 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 worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 22,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 5,915 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 55.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 18,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,275,000 after acquiring an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.