StockNews.com Downgrades Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) to Hold

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on MMSI. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $72.63 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $85.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 44.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 5.45, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.78 and its 200 day moving average is $73.42.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 42,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock worth $5,351,673 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,275,000 after buying an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 133.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 104,722 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,955,000 after acquiring an additional 59,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 187.7% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 274,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,813,000 after acquiring an additional 178,780 shares during 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.