Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $116.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MMSI. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective 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 decreased their price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $120.00 to $117.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research note on Friday, March 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Barrington Research reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.33.

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Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 0.2 %

MMSI stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.21. 116,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,056. Merit Medical Systems has a 52-week low of $70.70 and a 52-week high of $111.45. The stock's fifty day moving average is $101.92 and its 200-day moving average is $100.88. The company has a market cap of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 5.36, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Insider Activity at Merit Medical Systems

In other Merit Medical Systems news, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 38,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,879,803.50. This represents a 39.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 transaction of $3,252,895.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,028 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 109,132 shares of company stock worth $11,139,521 in the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merit Medical Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,648,659 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $643,058,000 after purchasing an additional 63,314 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,231,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $220,559,000 after buying an additional 15,098 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,076,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $200,833,000 after buying an additional 499,193 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,633,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $157,968,000 after acquiring an additional 36,489 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,535,468 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $148,510,000 after acquiring an additional 118,142 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.