Needham & Company LLC Cuts Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) Price Target to $100.00

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $116.00 to $100.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Needham & Company LLC's target price indicates a potential upside of 5.70% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $128.00 to $127.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barrington Research lowered their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.00.

Merit Medical Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ MMSI traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $94.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,926. Merit Medical Systems has a twelve month low of $73.67 and a twelve month high of $111.45. 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's 50 day moving average is $98.60 and its 200 day moving average is $100.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.38, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.90, for a total value of $3,087,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,945 shares in the company, valued at $4,007,440.50. This trade represents a 43.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fred P. Lampropoulos sold 31,320 shares of the 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 approximately $112,794,868.08. The trade was 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.

Institutional Trading of Merit Medical Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 305.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,028,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 43.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 559,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $53,433,000 after buying an additional 168,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 265,648 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.66% of the company's stock.

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.