Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $100.00 to $108.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 9.28% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.67.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ MMSI opened at $98.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.55. Merit Medical Systems has a twelve month low of $80.02 and a twelve month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total transaction of $3,087,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. This represents a 43.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMSI. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,142,000 after buying an additional 84,923 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 79.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 166,927 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $16,145,000 after buying an additional 74,019 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $800,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $200,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.