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

Millrace Asset Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMSI. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,577,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $155,879,000 after purchasing an additional 649,799 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 634,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $54,545,000 after acquiring an additional 377,851 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at about $21,156,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,343.5% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 192,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,986,000 after acquiring an additional 178,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, F M Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth about $12,550,000. Institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $104.92 on Tuesday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.46 and a twelve month high of $106.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMSI shares. StockNews.com lowered Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $103.36.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 16,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This represents a 27.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.