Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. CL King assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $112.00 to $102.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday. They issued an outperform rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Merit Medical Systems from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $93.90.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $85.64 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $80.85 and its 200 day moving average is $77.75. Merit Medical Systems has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $86.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 6.03 and a quick ratio of 4.38.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $323.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merit Medical Systems news, COO Neil Peterson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.85, for a total transaction of $613,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 14,819 shares in the company, valued at $1,212,935.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 114.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

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.