Public Sector Pension Investment Board Lowers Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board cut its stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 123,529 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Merit Medical Systems were worth $12,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 142.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $77,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Barrington Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $114.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.36.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In related news, Director F. Ann Millner sold 12,500 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.55, for a total transaction of $1,269,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,289,306.05. This trade represents a 27.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 29,646 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.02, for a total value of $2,905,900.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Merit Medical Systems stock opened at $103.66 on Friday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $65.46 and a one year high of $106.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.81, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.89.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 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 firm had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $334.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

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.