Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Given New $127.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price target increased by analysts at Canaccord Genuity Group from $125.00 to $127.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Canaccord Genuity Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 23.54% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MMSI. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.55.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ MMSI traded down $1.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $102.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 84,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,656. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.39, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.57. 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 twelve month low of $67.81 and a twelve month high of $106.87.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $718,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 221,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $21,910,000 after buying an additional 6,837 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 10.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,535 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,719,000 after buying an additional 6,487 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 3.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,090,000 after buying an additional 3,933 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.