Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Merit Medical Systems shares reached a new 52-week low, trading as low as $80.10 before closing at $85.65 on Friday.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on MMSI with a range of target prices; Canaccord Genuity set a $112.00 target, while Wells Fargo lowered theirs to $100.00.
• The company reported $1.01 EPS for the last quarter, outperforming expectations, with revenue growth of 13.2% year-over-year.

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $80.10 and last traded at $85.65, with a volume of 711 shares. The stock had previously closed at $85.65.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on Merit Medical Systems and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 4.09 and a quick ratio of 2.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.88, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.16 and a 200 day moving average of $96.32.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $382.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $372.47 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.07% and a net margin of 8.31%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.61, for a total transaction of $38,244.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,045,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $99,972,493.08. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total value of $1,423,218.75. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 24,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,029 shares of company stock valued at $8,377,970 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 7.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 167,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $15,671,000 after buying an additional 11,089 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $291,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $243,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 25.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 884,607 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $82,693,000 after buying an additional 181,815 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 2.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 188,787 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $17,648,000 after buying an additional 3,705 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% 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.