Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Coverage Initiated at CL King

CL King began coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier's stock. CL King's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.61% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 2.3 %

MMSI stock traded up $1.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $73.57. 264,701 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 516,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.41, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.34. 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 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $85.62.

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

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph Wright sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $1,892,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 42,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,195,436.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $1,600,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,396,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,637 shares of company stock worth $5,351,673. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $37,702,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 1,150.0% in the first quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 572,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $42,310,000 after buying an additional 526,385 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 15.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,895,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $268,881,000 after buying an additional 520,423 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4,411.3% during the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 518,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $39,275,000 after purchasing an additional 506,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 108.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 875,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $61,834,000 after purchasing an additional 456,031 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.