Short Interest in ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI) Increases By 11.8%

ICU Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ICUI - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 735,400 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the November 30th total of 657,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 237,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ICUI shares. StockNews.com upgraded ICU Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of ICU Medical from $158.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of ICU Medical from $198.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of ICU Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of ICU Medical in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ICU Medical presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.67.

Insider Transactions at ICU Medical

In other ICU Medical news, COO Christian B. Voigtlander sold 1,430 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $225,940.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Vivek Jain sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.84, for a total value of $2,062,080.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,973,261.12. This represents a 10.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,364 shares of company stock valued at $4,728,358. Corporate insiders own 6.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of ICU Medical

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICUI. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in ICU Medical by 15.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 59,207 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,790,000 after acquiring an additional 8,010 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of ICU Medical in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,884,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in ICU Medical in the second quarter worth $431,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in ICU Medical by 24.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 126,937 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $23,130,000 after buying an additional 25,031 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in ICU Medical by 129.1% during 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 buying an additional 6,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.10% of the company's stock.

ICU Medical Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ICUI traded up $0.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $155.17. 141,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 269,089. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. ICU Medical has a 1-year low of $86.80 and a 1-year high of $196.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.95 and a beta of 0.62.

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.