SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires New Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,781 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 332.7% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,926,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 78,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,561,000 after acquiring an additional 19,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Barrington Research dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $93.48. The stock had a trading volume of 800,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,292. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.87 and a quick ratio of 3.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 45.82, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average is $94.67 and its 200 day moving average is $98.73. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.62 and a twelve month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. Merit Medical Systems's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $330,972.40. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total value of $1,930,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

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.