Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research restated their outperform rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $98.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective 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. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $70.99 on Tuesday. Merit Medical Systems has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $85.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 43.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $75.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 5.45 and a quick ratio of 3.95.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock worth $5,351,673. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,702,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1,150.0% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 572,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,310,000 after acquiring an additional 526,385 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $268,881,000 after purchasing an additional 520,423 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 506,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 875,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $61,834,000 after purchasing an additional 456,031 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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 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.