Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $108.68 and last traded at $107.93, with a volume of 118060 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.10.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The company has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now directly owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,289,306.05. The trade was a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total transaction of $2,905,900.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMSI. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $120,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 56.8% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.