Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases New Shares in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 92,908 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $9,182,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Merit Medical Systems as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter worth about $44,000. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 142.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 831 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Down 0.7 %

MMSI traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $95.31. 343,915 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,123. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.46 and a 52 week high of $101.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 6.24 and a quick ratio of 4.64.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.04. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company had revenue of $338.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.94 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMSI has been the subject of several research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.82.

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.