Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $105.46 and last traded at $104.99, with a volume of 35874 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMSI shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.03, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.32.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% in the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 9,921 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 97.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 2,076 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 114,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,636,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,484 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.