Merit Medical Systems’ (MMSI) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $116.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James upped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.33.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MMSI opened at $92.04 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $101.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.86. Merit Medical Systems has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This trade represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. This trade represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $643,058,000 after acquiring an additional 63,314 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,559,000 after purchasing an additional 15,098 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $200,833,000 after purchasing an additional 499,193 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $157,968,000 after purchasing an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,535,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $148,510,000 after buying an additional 118,142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.