Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target Raised to $128.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $127.00 to $128.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.40% from the company’s current price.

MMSI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.60.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $109.03 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems has a fifty-two week low of $70.70 and a fifty-two week high of $109.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.80.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The business had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EULAV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 37.3% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 1,544 shares in the last quarter. Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 546,146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $52,823,000 after acquiring an additional 181,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. 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.