Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Acquires New Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 34,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $3,608,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Merit Medical Systems at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,454 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 224,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $21,683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MMSI stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.50. 1,254,102 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 536,236. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.62 and a 1 year high of $111.45. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.83, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $94.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.77.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 21,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.47, for a total value of $2,049,987.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,543 shares in the company, valued at $3,332,363.21. This represents a 38.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.11.

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.