Altium Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Altium Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Merit Medical Systems comprises approximately 2.7% of Altium Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Altium Capital Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Merit Medical Systems worth $9,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,142,000 after acquiring an additional 84,923 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 115,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $11,123,000 after purchasing an additional 92,000 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Merit Medical Systems by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 85.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 575,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $56,921,000 after buying an additional 265,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 33,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 7,367 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMSI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $116.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of Merit Medical Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total value of $2,487,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. The trade was a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $90.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.66. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.70 and a 52 week high of $111.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

About Merit Medical Systems

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.

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