Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.11.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMSI shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $108.00 price objective (up from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, May 23rd.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

MMSI traded down $0.83 on Monday, reaching $93.57. The stock had a trading volume of 496,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 529,658. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.66. Merit Medical Systems has a fifty-two week low of $80.02 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.40 and a 200-day moving average of $99.75.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.30, for a total value of $165,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $768,073.50. This trade represents a 17.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 now owns 1,066,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,914,343.12. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 70,015 shares of company stock valued at $6,709,970. Corporate insiders own 3.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,435.0% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 307 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.