American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 6,879 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 29.1% during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to $3.23 million worth of shares.
• Merit Medical Systems reported earnings of $1.01 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 13.2% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $107.00.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,879 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.05% of Merit Medical Systems worth $3,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth $60,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMSI. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. 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 research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $92.01. 451,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 644,375. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.10. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total transaction of $38,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $99,972,493.08. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,365.04. This represents a 18.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,014 shares of company stock valued at $1,933,680. Company insiders own 3.70% 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.