Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barrington Research increased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $85.95 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $86.44. 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’s 50-day moving average is $80.60 and its 200-day moving average is $77.61. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.91.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total value of $613,875.00. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.