Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by Baird R W

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) was upgraded by analysts at Baird R W to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MMSI. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. CL King began coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $85.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.61. Merit Medical Systems has a 52 week low of $62.58 and a 52 week high of $86.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 49.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $323.51 million for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 65.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 29,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 11,512 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $2,427,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,424,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 69.3% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 103,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,116,000 after purchasing an additional 42,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,306,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,258,000 after purchasing an additional 41,065 shares in 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.