Fred Alger Management LLC Raises Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 22.9%, now owning a total of 154,707 shares valued at approximately $16.35 million.
• Multiple investment firms, including Opal Wealth Advisors and IFP Advisors Inc, have recently made significant purchases or increases in their holdings in Merit Medical Systems.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $107.00 for Merit Medical Systems, with ratings indicating a strong interest in the company's stock.

Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 28,793 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.26% of Merit Medical Systems worth $16,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $69,810,000 after acquiring an additional 345,070 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3,197.9% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 342,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $33,166,000 after acquiring an additional 332,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 16.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,787,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $188,934,000 after acquiring an additional 251,821 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,365.04. This represents a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded down $4.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $85.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 700,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,460. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.29. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.04 and a 52 week high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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.