Critical Review: ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) & Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH)

Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) and ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Zimmer Biomet and ICU Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zimmer Biomet	4	12	7	1	2.21
ICU Medical	1	1	4	3	3.00

Zimmer Biomet currently has a consensus price target of $100.70, suggesting a potential upside of 12.11%. ICU Medical has a consensus price target of $172.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.08%. Given Zimmer Biomet’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zimmer Biomet is more favorable than ICU Medical.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.9% of Zimmer Biomet shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of ICU Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Zimmer Biomet shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of ICU Medical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Zimmer Biomet has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ICU Medical has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zimmer Biomet and ICU Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zimmer Biomet	9.05%	13.24%	7.28%
ICU Medical	2.15%	7.50%	3.91%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Zimmer Biomet and ICU Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zimmer Biomet	$8.23 billion	2.11	$705.20 million	$3.85	23.33
ICU Medical	$2.23 billion	1.72	$730,000.00	$1.85	82.95

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

Summary

Zimmer Biomet beats ICU Medical on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a medical technology company worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic reconstructive products, such as knee and hip products; S.E.T. products, including sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, extremities, and trauma products; craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products comprising face and skull reconstruction products, as well as products that fixate and stabilize the bones of the chest to facilitate healing or reconstruction after open heart surgery, trauma, or for deformities of the chest. It also offers robotic, surgical, and bone cement products. The company's products and solutions are used to treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints, or supporting soft tissues. It serves orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, hospitals, stocking distributors, healthcare dealers, and other specialists, as well as agents, healthcare purchasing organizations, or buying groups. The company was formerly known as Zimmer Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. in June 2015. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.

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. The company provides IV therapy and diluents, such as sodium chloride, dextrose, balanced electrolyte solutions, lactated ringer's, ringer's, mannitol, sodium chloride/dextrose, and sterile water; and irrigation solutions comprising sodium chloride and sterile water irrigation, physiologic solutions, ringer's irrigation, acetic acid irrigation, glycine irrigation, sorbitol-mannitol irrigation, flexible containers, and pour bottle options. It offers infusion pumps under the Plum 360 and Plum Duo brands; ambulatory and syringe infusion hardware products; IV mediation safety software, including ICU Medical MedNet, an enterprise-class medication management platform; LifeShield and PharmGuard medication infusion safety software; hemodynamic monitoring products; anesthesia systems and devices, breathing circuits, ventilation, respiratory, and specialty airway products; temperature management solutions; anesthesia/pain management trays and components; and professional services. The company's customers include acute care hospitals, wholesalers, ambulatory clinics, and alternate site facilities, including outpatient clinics, home health care providers, and long-term care facilities. ICU Medical, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is based in San Clemente, California.