AXQ Capital LP Acquires New Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,115 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,810,000 after purchasing an additional 345,070 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $188,934,000 after buying an additional 251,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 884,607 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $82,693,000 after buying an additional 181,815 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Chairman Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.31, for a total value of $2,182,750.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 1,029,955 shares in the company, valued at $89,925,371.05. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock worth $4,309,500 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Zacks Research cut Merit Medical Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.50.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI stock opened at $87.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.12 and a 1 year high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.10. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%.The business had revenue of $384.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $371.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Merit Medical Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.660-3.790 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.