ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded ICU Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James set a $97.00 price target on ICU Medical in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $168.67.

ICU Medical Stock Down 2.1 %

ICUI opened at $148.09 on Tuesday. ICU Medical has a 1-year low of $93.36 and a 1-year high of $196.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -32.40 and a beta of 0.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Vivek Jain sold 1,373 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.48, for a total value of $213,474.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,262,119.64. This trade represents a 1.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of ICU Medical by 15.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,207 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,790,000 after purchasing an additional 8,010 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in ICU Medical in the third quarter valued at about $3,884,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in ICU Medical by 24.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 126,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $23,130,000 after acquiring an additional 25,031 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in ICU Medical by 129.1% in the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 12,389 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,258,000 after acquiring an additional 6,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in ICU Medical in the fourth quarter valued at about $556,000. Institutional investors own 96.10% of the company’s stock.

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.