Driehaus Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 83,464 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $8,073,000. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Merit Medical Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded up $2.90 on Monday, hitting $98.73. 963,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 513,606. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.56. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.40, 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.02 and a 1-year high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. The trade was a 51.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521. Company insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $127.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.78.

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.