Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems 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 stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MMSI stock opened at $102.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 50.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.59. Merit Medical Systems has a 52 week low of $65.46 and a 52 week high of $102.53. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter valued at $1,083,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 36.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 22,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 55.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,011,000 after purchasing an additional 18,863 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 1,147.3% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $594,000 after buying an additional 7,228 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Merit Medical Systems

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.