Millrace Asset Group Inc. Takes Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Millrace Asset Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,797 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,147.3% in the first 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,543,000 after buying an additional 22,077 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $599,000. Finally, Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $227,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $104.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.89. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.46 and a 1-year high of $106.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $98.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.16.

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

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total value of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems 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.