Is Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (MMSI) A Good Stock To Buy?

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The equity market returns were very disappointing in the third quarter, “thanks” to the slowdown of China’s economy and the weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. It was not entirely clear whether the broader market sell-off made U.S. equity valuations undervalued, but it definitely made them more attractive. It is worth mentioning that Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) underperformed the broad-market S&P 500 ETF by more than 14 percentage points during the period of June 25, 2015 through October 30, 2015. This clearly points to the fact that most investors, including hedge fund firms and institutional investors, heavily cut their exposure to high-potential (but seemingly riskier) small-cap stocks during the bloody third quarter. So let’s take a glance at the smart money sentiment towards Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) and see how it was affected.

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI) shares haven’t seen a lot of action during the third quarter. Overall, hedge fund sentiment was unchanged. The stock was in 18 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSEAMEX:UVE), Interval Leisure Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IILG), and California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) to gather more data points.

Follow Merit Medical Systems Inc (NASDAQ:MMSI)

In the financial world there are tons of indicators investors can use to evaluate publicly traded companies. Some of the most useful indicators are hedge fund and insider trading activity. Our researchers have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best investment managers can outperform the market by a significant amount (see the details here).

With all of this in mind, let’s take a gander at the key action regarding Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI).

Hedge fund activity in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Chuck Royce’s Royce & Associates has the number one position in Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI), worth close to $23.4 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Adage Capital Management, led by Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson, holding a $15.5 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other professional money managers that hold long positions consist of Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, D E Shaw and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

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