Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $170.07.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. William Blair upgraded Icon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Icon

In other news, Director Eugene Mccague sold 3,255 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $569,625.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,925. This represents a 46.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ciaran Murray sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $439,804.33. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,360,059.08. This represents a 11.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 22,796 shares of company stock worth $3,887,139 over the last three months. 44.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Icon by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,481,000 after buying an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,410,000 after acquiring an additional 239,808 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $266,725,000 after acquiring an additional 327,314 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Icon by 555.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $272,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Icon by 257.8% during the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $208,383,000 after acquiring an additional 864,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Icon Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ICLR opened at $172.33 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.21 and its 200 day moving average is $142.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Icon has a 12-month low of $66.57 and a 12-month high of $203.91. The company has a market capitalization of $13.20 billion, a PE ratio of 40.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.05 and a beta of 1.20.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that Icon will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

ICON plc is a contract research and development organization that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government clients. The company helps sponsors plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the progression of new medicines and healthcare products from early research through regulatory approval and commercialization.

Its services include clinical trial design and management, clinical data management, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting, medical affairs, laboratory services and real-world evidence.