Emerald Advisers LLC Has $29.67 Million Stock Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 280,677 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 22,078 shares during the period. Merit Medical Systems comprises approximately 1.3% of Emerald Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 0.48% of Merit Medical Systems worth $29,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1,518.5% during 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. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $162,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total value of $330,972.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,880 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,500.80. This trade represents a 41.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:MMSI traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $93.49. 448,468 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,037. The company has a current ratio of 4.87, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.39. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $82.62 and a one year high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.65.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMSI. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Barrington Research lowered their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

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.