Axiom Investors LLC DE Sells 42,292 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

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 decreased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth $31,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 437 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 1.0%

MMSI stock traded up $0.90 on Tuesday, reaching $89.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 509,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 578,871. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 45.21, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.75. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.04 and a 12-month high of $111.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 4.09.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $382.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total value of $1,423,218.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total transaction of $951,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,056,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,449,383.36. This trade represents a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,779 shares of company stock valued at $4,662,863 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MMSI. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target 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, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.