Raymond James Increases Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target to $110.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) had its price target hoisted by Raymond James from $105.00 to $110.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Raymond James’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.68% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MMSI. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $103.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.70.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Merit Medical Systems stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.76. The company had a trading volume of 219,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,989. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.57. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.43, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.84. Merit Medical Systems has a 12-month low of $70.70 and a 12-month high of $108.07.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.06. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.61% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $339.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Merit Medical Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 owns 16,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,705.22. This represents a 64.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 value of $1,269,375.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the third quarter worth $59,000. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth about $77,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $120,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.