ICU Medical price target raised to $153 from $145 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar raised the firm’s price target on ICU Medical (ICUI) to $153 from $145 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. One of the elements the firm liked of the ICU story when it launched coverage last month was the effects portfolio transformation could have on the business profile as it relates to the absolute financials that are reported, the growth of the asset, balance sheet leverage, and the investability of shares. The JV that deconsolidated the IV Solutions business from the ICU P&L was a major step forward, but Piper is saying today it strongly believes it’s just the first step as the firm thinks ICU management may be moving forward with evaluating options for remaining pieces of the company’s Vital Care portfolio, and that it’s the completion of the JV just a few months ago that allows management to focus more attention on finding the best value-creating transaction for the Vital Care pieces.