Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 413.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,291 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 59,829 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.13% of Merit Medical Systems worth $7,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Merit Medical Systems by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $116.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $111.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merit Medical Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.33.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MMSI opened at $91.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 5.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.81 and a 12 month high of $111.45. The company has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, Director Stephen C. Evans sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.31, for a total transaction of $526,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $490,428.67. This trade represents a 51.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.86, for a total value of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares in the company, valued at $112,794,868.08. This represents a 2.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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