Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Anne Clem Whitaker Sells 841 Shares of Stock

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Anne Clem Whitaker sold 841 shares of Icon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $138,167.89. Following the sale, the director owned 891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146,382.39. This represents a 48.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Icon Stock Performance

ICLR stock opened at $167.17 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.18. The company has a market capitalization of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Icon Plc has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.26 EPS. Icon’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on ICLR. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson set a $164.00 price target on Icon in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler cut Icon to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Icon from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Icon from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Icon by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,637,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $811,499,000 after acquiring an additional 975,268 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,214,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,996,000 after purchasing an additional 75,843 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,756,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $684,582,000 after purchasing an additional 329,266 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $366,481,000 after purchasing an additional 310,236 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 239,808 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Icon News

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Icon’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations. Adjusted EPS was $2.56 versus the $2.55 consensus, while revenue reached $2.06 billion, above the $2.00 billion estimate. Revenue increased 2.3% year over year, providing evidence of continued demand for its outsourced clinical-research services.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment includes several bullish targets. BMO Capital Markets raised its target to $187 and Mizuho increased its target to $190, while William Blair upgraded the stock to “strong buy.” The broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with an average target of $170.40. Analyst coverage article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was widespread but appears largely administrative: CEO Barry Balfe sold 382 shares for about $62,675, CFO Nigel Clerkin sold 2,267 shares for approximately $372,445, and several directors also sold shares. The SEC filings state that the transactions were made to cover tax-withholding obligations tied to vested equity awards. Executives and directors retained shares afterward. Icon CFO insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares, indicating no measurable short-selling pressure or potential short-covering catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the quarterly revenue beat, EPS declined from $3.26 in the comparable prior-year period. ICLR also trades at a relatively high valuation, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 39 and a PEG ratio above 6, leaving the stock sensitive to any slowdown in growth or weaker guidance.

Icon Company Profile

Icon plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon’s service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.