Fred Alger Management LLC Purchases 28,793 Shares of 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 Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 22.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 28,793 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Merit Medical Systems worth $16,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 16.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 719,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $76,039,000 after buying an additional 103,878 shares during the period. Petrus Trust Company LTA lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 16.3% in the first quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 5,474 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 4.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,967 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,908,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Greenhouse Funds LLLP lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1.1% in the first quarter. Greenhouse Funds LLLP now owns 407,787 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $43,107,000 after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 99.2% in the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 120,952 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $12,786,000 after buying an additional 60,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director Lynne N. Ward sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.56, for a total transaction of $265,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,365.04. The trade was a 18.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded down $4.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $85.53. 700,190 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 643,355. 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 50 day moving average price of $88.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.49. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.04 and a 12 month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMSI. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective 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. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

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.