Emerald Advisers LLC Trims Holdings in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Emerald Advisers LLC cut its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 12.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 315,179 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 43,974 shares during the period. Merit Medical Systems makes up 1.2% of Emerald Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 0.54% of Merit Medical Systems worth $31,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems during the first quarter valued at about $1,083,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 17,716.1% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 9,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 9,921 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 36.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 22,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,915 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 55.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,011,000 after purchasing an additional 18,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,147.3% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,228 shares in the last quarter. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMSI. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (up previously from $100.00) on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $85.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $92.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.36.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MMSI traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.80. 392,724 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,393. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 5.36 and a quick ratio of 4.64. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.46 and a 12-month high of $101.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $96.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.11.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $339.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $334.60 million. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.