Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Sold by Emerald Advisers LLC

Emerald Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 7.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 280,677 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 22,078 shares during the quarter. Merit Medical Systems makes up 1.3% of Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $29,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, Director David Floyd sold 3,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.16, for a total transaction of $330,972.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,880 shares in the company, valued at $459,500.80. This represents a 41.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 15,181 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.75, for a total transaction of $1,423,218.75. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 24,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,843.75. This trade represents a 38.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 85,596 shares of company stock worth $8,171,433 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MMSI shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $112.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $108.00 price target (up previously from $106.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.11.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 1.8%

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $93.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 45.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 4.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.39. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.62 and a twelve month high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $352.57 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 8.81% and a return on equity of 15.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.