Polar Capital Holdings Plc Reduces Position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc reduced its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 382,697 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 30,068 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.66% of Merit Medical Systems worth $37,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 28,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,728,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merit Medical Systems by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merit Medical Systems

In other news, CFO Raul Jr. Parra sold 12,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.81, for a total value of $1,230,283.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,391,300.81. This represents a 33.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brian G. Lloyd sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.50, for a total transaction of $2,487,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 38,993 shares in the company, valued at $3,879,803.50. The trade was a 39.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,132 shares of company stock valued at $11,139,521 over the last quarter. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Down 0.6%

MMSI stock opened at $97.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 3.82 and a current ratio of 5.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.51. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.02 and a fifty-two week high of $111.45.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.11. Merit Medical Systems had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 15.61%. The firm had revenue of $355.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $352.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMSI. Barrington Research decreased their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $103.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Merit Medical Systems from $111.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Merit Medical Systems in a report on Friday, March 28th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $116.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.78.

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.