UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI

Key Points

• UBS AM significantly increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 73.5% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 0.49% of the company worth $30.33 million.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Merit Medical Systems, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.50.
• Merit Medical Systems reported $1.01 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a revenue increase of 13.2% year-over-year.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 73.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 121,599 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.49% of Merit Medical Systems worth $30,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $134,517,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $80,679,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 109.4% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 660,394 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $69,810,000 after buying an additional 345,070 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 worth $188,934,000 after acquiring an additional 251,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $21,824,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $107.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.70. The company had a trading volume of 774,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 547,228. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $111.45. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.98, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $87.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.01.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 15.07%. The business had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $372.47 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. Merit Medical Systems's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,809 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,365.04. The trade was a 18.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.