Merit Medical Systems' (MMSI) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $108.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barrington Research dropped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 1.2%

Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.99. 985,226 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,137. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $82.62 and a 1 year high of $111.45. 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 cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.08.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $355.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,268,843.75. This represents a 38.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock valued at $8,171,433 in the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors 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 worth $31,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 119.8% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 367 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 55.6% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 375 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. 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.