ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) Hits New 12-Month Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• ICU Medical's stock reached a new 52-week low at $115.63 after Raymond James Financial downgraded the price target from $187 to $180, despite maintaining a strong-buy rating.
• Following insider transactions, directors sold a combined 2,542 shares, reducing their positions significantly, contributing to a total of 36,097 shares sold by insiders over the last three months.
• Institutional interest is notable, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their stakes in ICU Medical, highlighting a shift in investment strategies regarding the company.

ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $115.63 and last traded at $119.55, with a volume of 265371 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $129.91.

ICUI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of ICU Medical from $187.00 to $180.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of ICU Medical from $209.00 to $191.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ICU Medical has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Christian B. Voigtlander sold 5,556 shares of ICU Medical stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.65, for a total value of $770,339.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,389 shares in the company, valued at $331,234.85. This trade represents a 69.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ben Sousa sold 2,000 shares of ICU Medical stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.36, for a total transaction of $274,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,795.44. This represents a 80.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,155 shares of company stock valued at $4,581,168 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ICU Medical

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICUI. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 764.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 242 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ICU Medical during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 88.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 638 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 27.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 716 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 813.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 676 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ICU Medical Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $129.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.58 and a beta of 0.88.

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.66. ICU Medical had a negative net margin of 1.56% and a positive return on equity of 7.24%. The firm had revenue of $543.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $543.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that ICU Medical, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About ICU Medical

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.