Freedom Capital Begins Coverage on Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Equities research analysts at Freedom Capital started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $74.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barrington Research set a $114.00 price objective on Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $77.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $92.21 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.65 and its 200 day moving average is $77.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 4.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.51. Merit Medical Systems has a fifty-two week low of $59.74 and a fifty-two week high of $94.85.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $418.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $405.25 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.22% and a return on equity of 13.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.9% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,167,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $149,407,000 after acquiring an additional 81,030 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.4% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,260,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $108,708,000 after purchasing an additional 76,338 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,287,000 after purchasing an additional 12,285 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,894,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 714,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $49,222,000 after purchasing an additional 227,915 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and distributes disposable products used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Its devices are designed for use by healthcare professionals in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other clinical settings.

The company’s product portfolio includes devices for vascular access, angiography, intervention, drainage, embolization, oncology and cardiac procedures. Merit also offers products used in peripheral intervention, spine procedures and other specialized areas of minimally invasive medicine, including kits, accessories and related procedural equipment.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical serves healthcare providers through a global commercial and manufacturing network.