Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Sells 53,584 Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC reduced its shareholding in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. by 2.4%, selling 53,584 shares, and now holds approximately 3.1% of the company.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Merit Medical, with notable increases from GAMMA Investing LLC (31.1%) and Whalen Wealth Management Inc. (52.6%) during the first quarter.
• Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts, with a consensus target price of $106.50 following recent ratings updates from multiple brokerages.

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,211,589 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 53,584 shares during the quarter. Merit Medical Systems makes up approximately 3.1% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 3.74% of Merit Medical Systems worth $206,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $294,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $312,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMSI. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $103.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, 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. Eight equities 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $106.50.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total value of $265,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,365.04. This trade represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $81.86 on Monday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $85.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.58. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $78.12 and a 12-month 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.

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

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.

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