International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 214,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $21,156,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of Merit Medical Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,991 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 19.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $95.90 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.46 and a 12 month high of $101.60. The company has a quick ratio of 4.64, a current ratio of 6.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of 55.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.57.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $338.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.94 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MMSI. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.82.

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.