Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Sunday.

MMSI has been the subject of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.3 %

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $99.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a current ratio of 5.36. Merit Medical Systems has a one year low of $65.46 and a one year high of $101.60. The stock has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 634,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $54,545,000 after acquiring an additional 377,851 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $21,156,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,343.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 192,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,986,000 after acquiring an additional 178,800 shares during the last quarter. F M Investments LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $12,550,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,685,000 after buying an additional 131,977 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.