Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 386,772 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 20% from the previous session’s volume of 486,226 shares.The stock last traded at $102.54 and had previously closed at $102.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MMSI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merit Medical Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.70.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 3.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $101.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.77.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $334.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,603,705.22. The trade was a 64.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 32.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Merit Medical Systems during the second quarter worth $112,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter valued at $120,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 56.8% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.