Amundi Purchases 2,847 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Amundi increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.2% during the first quarter, owning approximately $13.80 million worth of shares.
• Several hedge funds, including IFP Advisors Inc and Versant Capital Management Inc, significantly boosted their stakes in Merit Medical Systems during the same period.
• Merit Medical Systems reported earnings of $1.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue increase of 13.2% year-over-year for the quarter.

Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.22% of Merit Medical Systems worth $13,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 315,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $30,498,000 after buying an additional 11,335 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 590,598 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,123,000 after buying an additional 36,535 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 10,093 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 85,227 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,243,000 after buying an additional 16,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $362,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of MMSI traded down $2.60 on Monday, hitting $82.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,129,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,460. 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's fifty day moving average price is $87.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.16. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. The trade was a 18.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.