EULAV Asset Management Acquires New Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

EULAV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 23,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 216.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 10,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $995,000 after acquiring an additional 6,887 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth $935,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 20.1% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,844 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 92.6% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 11,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after buying an additional 5,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 67,544 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,675,000 after buying an additional 1,009 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $104.71 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.28. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.46 and a 52 week high of $105.46. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

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.