Riverwater Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 18,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.3% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,053,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $262,445,000 after acquiring an additional 10,512 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.5% in the second quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,250,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $193,419,000 after buying an additional 75,885 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 17.6% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 880,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,685,000 after buying an additional 131,977 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 838,843 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,543,000 after acquiring an additional 22,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 147.2% in the 2nd 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 during the period. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $95.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 6.24, a quick ratio of 4.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.13 and a 1 year high of $101.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average of $86.83.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.94 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.82.

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.