Needham & Company LLC Cuts Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target to $100.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $116.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.93% from the company's current price.

MMSI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.78.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMSI traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.40. 140,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,656. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems has a 1-year low of $73.67 and a 1-year high of $111.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 46.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.16 and a 200-day moving average of $100.56.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,007,440.50. The trade was a 43.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total value of $526,550.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,728,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% during the first quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. 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.