Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Shares Sold by Axiom Investors LLC DE

Key Points

• Axiom Investors LLC has reduced its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 22.7%, selling 42,292 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 143,726 shares valued at approximately $15.2 million.
• Merit Medical Systems reported a 13.2% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $382.46 million, and surpassed earnings estimates with an EPS of $1.01.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Merit Medical Systems, with the consensus target at $107.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook with multiple "buy" ratings.

Axiom Investors LLC DE lessened its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,726 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 42,292 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE owned approximately 0.24% of Merit Medical Systems worth $15,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $69,810,000 after buying an additional 345,070 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $33,166,000 after buying an additional 332,514 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $188,934,000 after buying an additional 251,821 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,824,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $90.27. 88,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 645,870. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.59. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.04 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 45.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.66.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $382.46 million for 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%. Merit Medical Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,514 shares of company stock valued at $2,264,465. Company insiders own 3.20% 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.