Piper Sandler bullish on ICU Medical, initiates with an Overweight

As previously reported, Piper Sandler analyst Jason Bednar initiated coverage of ICU Medical (ICUI) with an Overweight rating and $145 price target The infusion pump market faced regulatory and quality control challenges the last few years, and ICU has borne its own internal headwinds in the wake of the Smiths Medical transaction, the firm notes. The path to stability for the industry and ICU has been uneven and taken longer to achieve than many anticipated, but Piper believes the weight of the evidence points to ICU being in the early stages of finally showing the operational improvements necessary for margins and cash flow to take steps forward. As that improvement in fundamentals plays out, the firm sees shares as likely to recapture earnings multiple at least in the upper teens.