ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ICUI. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of ICU Medical from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of ICU Medical in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on ICU Medical from $158.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $149.00.

ICU Medical Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ICUI opened at $174.18 on Thursday. ICU Medical has a 52-week low of $78.28 and a 52-week high of $177.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.09 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.41.

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $596.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $556.64 million. ICU Medical had a positive return on equity of 5.01% and a negative net margin of 3.07%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that ICU Medical will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at ICU Medical

In other news, VP Virginia Ruth Sanzone sold 2,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.11, for a total transaction of $295,425.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,901.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Virginia Ruth Sanzone sold 2,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.11, for a total value of $295,425.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,901.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Vivek Jain sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.04, for a total value of $1,872,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,593 shares in the company, valued at $16,320,691.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,552 shares of company stock worth $4,537,802 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICU Medical

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ICU Medical by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,440,729 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $243,438,000 after purchasing an additional 315,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ICU Medical during the fourth quarter worth $20,669,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 539.1% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 177,009 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,655,000 after buying an additional 149,313 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 109.4% during the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 278,436 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,882,000 after buying an additional 145,485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ICU Medical in the 1st quarter valued at $15,425,000. 96.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICU Medical Company Profile

ICU Medical, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices used in infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications worldwide. Its infusion therapy products include needlefree products under the MicroClave, MicroClave Clear, and NanoClave brands; Neutron catheter patency devices; ChemoClave and ChemoLock closed system transfer devices, which are used to limit the escape of hazardous drugs or vapor concentrations, block the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system, and eliminates the risk of needlestick injury; Tego needle free connectors; Deltec GRIPPER non-coring needles for portal access; and ClearGuard, SwabCap, and SwabTip disinfection caps.