Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Purchased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,454 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $5,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 50.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $879,000. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,653,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,497,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,440 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.55.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

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

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $103.79 on Wednesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.81 and a fifty-two week high of $106.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.88, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36.

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

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.