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

Analysts at Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings 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 target indicates a potential upside of 11.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on MMSI. CL King started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $85.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $86.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.61. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a P/E 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

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