Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Hits New 52-Week High at $85.37

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $85.37 and last traded at $84.82, with a volume of 38851 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barrington Research increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. CL King initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $96.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.10.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 4.38 and a current ratio of 6.03.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 7.94% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The company had revenue of $323.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. Renaissance Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 24,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,314 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 4,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.