MMSI Shorts Hit a New High as Peers Rally Past It

Merit Medical Systems reports Q3 results today with short interest at its highest level in at least a year, while the stock has slipped 0.6% over the past week against a peer median gain of 2.6%.

Short sellers have added to their positions in each of the past four weeks. The SI % of free float reached 6.8% on October 28, up 19% over the past month and 6.3% over the past week alone. That is the most concentrated bearish position ORTEX has recorded for MMSI in the data window available. The borrow market is not stressed: availability remains very loose at 1,488%, with roughly fifteen shares available to lend for every one already borrowed, and the cost to borrow is 0.56%, barely changed on the week. The short build looks deliberate rather than opportunistic. Options positioning has turned more defensive alongside it. The put/call ratio reached 0.84 on October 29, roughly 1.35 standard deviations above its 20-day average of 0.61. That is well above the mid-October trough near 0.39, when sentiment was at its most constructive.

The peer divergence sharpens the picture. Over the past week, GEHC gained nearly 10%, BAX added 3.1%, and STE rose 3.3%. MMSI's 0.6% decline over the same period is a notable outlier in the group. The debate heading into the print maps onto execution risk. The bull case rests on management's stated plan to hit a 2026 operating margin of 21.2% and cumulative free cash flow of $634 million, with gross margin expected near 54% as the mix shifts toward faster-growing Therapeutic Products. Needham holds a Buy with a $101 target, and Piper Sandler has $106. On the other side, Freedom Capital Markets initiated coverage just three days ago with a Hold at $90, below the current price, and the bear scenario centres on revenue growth at 5% or below pressuring margins and leaving earnings short of consensus. The consensus mean target sits at $101, implying a roughly 8% premium to last night's close of $93.39, but the rating is Hold with three Hold-rated analysts and no Sell.

BlackRock is the largest institutional holder, with 15.9% of shares as of September 30 and a recent net add of 630,000 shares. Its position is passive (filed under Schedule 13G/A) and there is no 13D activist on the register. On the insider side, the COO sold approximately $2.5 million of stock in two open-market transactions in August, both without a declared 10b5-1 plan. Net insider selling over the past 90 days totals roughly $2.5 million in value.

The one prior earnings reaction in the data shows MMSI gaining 5.2% on the day and 8.5% over the five days following the July 2026 print. Tonight's report will test whether the company can show enough margin progress and top-line momentum to close the gap with a peer group that has already moved.