Crestline Management LP Takes $454,000 Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Crestline Management LP bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $454,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,142,000 after purchasing an additional 84,923 shares during the last quarter. EULAV Asset Management raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $11,123,000 after buying an additional 92,000 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 7,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth $800,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded down $1.12 on Tuesday, hitting $97.61. 400,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,287. The firm's 50 day moving average is $96.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.56. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $80.02 and a one year high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 47.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total transaction of $3,087,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. This represents a 43.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company set a $106.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.78.

Merit Medical Systems 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.