Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target Cut to $85.00 by Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $88.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

MMSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They set a neutral rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.78.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $78.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $74.19 and its 200-day moving average is $74.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 6.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 45.39, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.91. Merit Medical Systems has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $85.62.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total value of $1,380,476.71. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.03, for a total transaction of $1,380,476.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,637 shares of company stock valued at $3,751,673. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth about $928,000. Dakota Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 10.2% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 11.2% during the third quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 196,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,573,000 after buying an additional 19,782 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 10.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 696,575 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,078,000 after buying an additional 66,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,092,000 after buying an additional 3,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

About Merit Medical Systems

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.