Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barrington Research boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $84.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 12th.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 6,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $479,196.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $887,917.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $1,892,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,195,436.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock valued at $5,351,673. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.95. 345,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 520,229. The company has a quick ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Merit Medical Systems has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $85.62. The company's 50 day moving average price is $76.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 44.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $324.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $320.66 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 7.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.