Aberdeen Group plc Increases Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, acquiring an additional 56,080 shares, bringing its total to 602,226 shares valued at approximately $63.66 million.
• Merit Medical Systems reported earnings of $1.01 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 13.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Despite recent insider sales, the stock maintains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with analysts setting an average target price of $107.00 for the shares.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 602,226 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 56,080 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 1.02% of Merit Medical Systems worth $63,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 52.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 40,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,229,000 after acquiring an additional 13,825 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 56,165 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,937,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 27.3% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 184,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $19,541,000 after acquiring an additional 39,653 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth $80,679,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 9.3% during the first quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 66,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,049,000 after acquiring an additional 5,668 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 301,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,402. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.24, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $330,972.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $459,500.80. This trade represents a 41.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total transaction of $165,392.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,391.45. This trade represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,779 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,983. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of several research reports. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 target price on Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.00.

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.