Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. CL King started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday. They set a buy rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Raymond James increased their target price 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. Barrington Research increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI opened at $72.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.37. The stock has a market cap of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.83, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.89. Merit Medical Systems has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $85.62.

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

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,396,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Thomas James Gunderson sold 18,157 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 19,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,464,109.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 three months, insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock valued at $5,351,673. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 42,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after buying an additional 125,605 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,797,000 after buying an additional 87,711 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 18.0% in the third quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 97,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,755,000 after buying an additional 14,951 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after buying an additional 24,788 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is 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.