Insider Selling: Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.54, for a total transaction of $1,930,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at $102,914,343.12. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 539,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,780. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $95.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.23. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $80.02 and a one year high of $111.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $108.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 target price (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.11.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.