Piper Sandler Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Stock Price

Key Points

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Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Piper Sandler's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.98% from the company's current price.

MMSI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of 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. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of MMSI traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $85.38. 485,168 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,731. The company has a quick ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 4.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $99,972,493.08. The trade was 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael R. Mcdonnell sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.51, for a total value of $165,392.50. Following the sale, the director owned 6,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $604,391.45. This represents a 21.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 6,789 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,555,000 after acquiring an additional 10,526 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth $66,638,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $484,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.