Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at CL King

CL King assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $88.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised Merit Medical Systems from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI opened at $73.57 on Thursday. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $85.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 3.95 and a current ratio of 5.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,396,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,800. 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. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 26.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 136,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,061,000 after purchasing an additional 28,233 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,016 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $600,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 8.1% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 49,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 3,685 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 55.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 10,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 4.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 132,266 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,798,000 after acquiring an additional 5,501 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by 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.