Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) PT Lowered to $81.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $96.00 to $81.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.39% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $86.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $69.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.13, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.23. Merit Medical Systems has a 12-month low of $62.58 and a 12-month high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.10. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.17%. The firm had revenue of $315.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $306.25 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director A Scott Anderson sold 22,180 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.40, for a total value of $1,539,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,659.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director A Scott Anderson sold 22,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.40, for a total transaction of $1,539,292.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,659.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Neil Peterson sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.91, for a total value of $543,280.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,214,556 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $854,345,000 after acquiring an additional 116,156 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,700,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $378,653,000 after buying an additional 377,858 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,928,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $216,551,000 after buying an additional 411,123 shares during the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,091,402 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $154,659,000 after buying an additional 14,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,080,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $174,022,000 after buying an additional 45,119 shares during the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures, primarily in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care, and endoscopy. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides peripheral intervention products for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in peripheral vessels and organs; 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.