Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Coverage Initiated at Robert W. Baird

Stock analysts at Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.69% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $85.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $80.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.61. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $86.44.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,212,935.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 161.7% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,797,000 after purchasing an additional 87,711 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 607,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,956,000 after acquiring an additional 125,605 shares during the period. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 352.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 31,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,196,000 after acquiring an additional 24,788 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 719,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $49,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,967 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 171.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 15,982 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 10,088 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.