ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI) Short Interest Down 7.2% in October

ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 652,500 shares, a decrease of 7.2% from the October 15th total of 703,400 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 253,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at ICU Medical

In related news, CEO Vivek Jain sold 12,000 shares of ICU Medical stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.46, for a total transaction of $2,141,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,665,666.78. This trade represents a 10.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Daniel Woolson sold 2,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.22, for a total value of $408,376.44. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 13,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,139,324.54. This represents a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $6,573,496 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICU Medical

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 55.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,552 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,620 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of ICU Medical by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 28,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,068,000 after acquiring an additional 9,793 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ICU Medical by 46.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 546 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of ICU Medical by 18.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ICU Medical by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,452,720 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $263,226,000 after purchasing an additional 11,991 shares during the last quarter. 96.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of ICU Medical from $158.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of ICU Medical in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. KeyCorp increased their price target on ICU Medical from $198.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on ICU Medical in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut ICU Medical from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ICU Medical has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.00.

ICU Medical Stock Performance

NASDAQ ICUI traded down $2.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $167.90. 5,400 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 274,153. ICU Medical has a twelve month low of $82.82 and a twelve month high of $196.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $176.52 and its 200-day moving average is $143.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

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.