ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) Upgraded by Needham & Company LLC to "Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC upgraded ICU Medical from “hold” to “buy” and set a $165 price target, implying about 22% upside from the prior close.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $1.97 versus $1.78 expected and revenue of $525.77 million slightly above estimates, though revenue was still down 12.3% year over year.
• Insider selling was noted, including shares sold by a director and a vice president, while institutional ownership remains high at 96.10% of the stock.

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $165.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target points to a potential upside of 22.25% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ICUI. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on ICU Medical from $178.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ICU Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised ICU Medical to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on ICU Medical from $180.00 to $164.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of ICU Medical from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.00.

ICU Medical Stock Performance

Shares of ICU Medical stock opened at $134.97 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's fifty day moving average is $125.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.80. ICU Medical has a 52 week low of $107.00 and a 52 week high of $160.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of 72.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.74.

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $525.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.65 million. ICU Medical had a return on equity of 7.50% and a net margin of 2.15%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. ICU Medical has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.750-8.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that ICU Medical will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ICU Medical news, Director David C. Greenberg sold 2,424 shares of ICU Medical stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.91, for a total transaction of $297,933.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,363.60. The trade was a 23.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Virginia Ruth Sanzone sold 2,447 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.08, for a total transaction of $303,623.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,596.80. The trade was a 11.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICU Medical

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ICU Medical during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in ICU Medical by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 696 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in ICU Medical by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 800 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in ICU Medical by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 823 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in ICU Medical during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.10% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.