ICU Medical (ICUI) Competitors

ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) and Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) are both mid-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Which has better valuation and earnings, ICUI or MMSI?

Merit Medical Systems has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ICU Medical. ICU Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merit Medical Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICU Medical	$2.38B	1.40	-$117.69M	-$3.83	-35.38
Merit Medical Systems	$1.36B	4.08	$120.36M	$2.04	45.86

Does the media prefer ICUI or MMSI?

In the previous week, Merit Medical Systems had 5 more articles in the media than ICU Medical. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Merit Medical Systems and 2 mentions for ICU Medical. Merit Medical Systems' average media sentiment score of 0.82 beat ICU Medical's score of 0.77 indicating that Merit Medical Systems is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
ICU Medical	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Merit Medical Systems	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, ICUI or MMSI?

ICU Medical has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ICUI or MMSI?

96.1% of ICU Medical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of ICU Medical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Merit Medical Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ICUI or MMSI more profitable?

Merit Medical Systems has a net margin of 8.81% compared to ICU Medical's net margin of -3.87%. Merit Medical Systems' return on equity of 15.52% beat ICU Medical's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICU Medical	-3.87%	6.75%	3.20%
Merit Medical Systems	8.81%	15.52%	8.72%

Do analysts prefer ICUI or MMSI?

ICU Medical presently has a consensus price target of $192.67, suggesting a potential upside of 42.19%. Merit Medical Systems has a consensus price target of $109.11, suggesting a potential upside of 16.63%. Given ICU Medical's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ICU Medical is more favorable than Merit Medical Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICU Medical	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Merit Medical Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89

Summary

Merit Medical Systems beats ICU Medical on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.