Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Rating) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 27,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,531,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMSI. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 48.4% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 712,135 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,647,000 after purchasing an additional 232,211 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Merit Medical Systems by 114.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 264,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,343,000 after purchasing an additional 140,933 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $5,201,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 725,079 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $48,232,000 after acquiring an additional 88,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1,457.3% in the 2nd quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 88,767 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,817,000 after acquiring an additional 83,067 shares during the last quarter. 95.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TheStreet raised Merit Medical Systems from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Friday, September 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Raymond James raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Merit Medical Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Merit Medical Systems from $69.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Monday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Merit Medical Systems Stock Performance

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $287.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $273.03 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 5.43%. Equities analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merit Medical Systems

(Get Rating)

Merit Medical Systems, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures, primarily in cardiology, radiology, oncology, critical care, and endoscopy. The company operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy.

Featured Stories

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Merit Medical Systems (MMSI)
• MarketBeat: Week in Review 12/26 – 12/30
• The Dogs Of Tech: It's Time For A Bite Of These Stocks
• Does This Acquisition Make Microsoft a Bear Market Buy?
• Is Kintara Therapeutics A Hidden Gem?
• Should You Warm up to Generac Stock for the Winter?

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MMSI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Merit Medical Systems Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merit Medical Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.