IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IQV. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of IQVIA from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of IQVIA from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Monday, July 6th. William Blair raised shares of IQVIA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded IQVIA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.88.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of IQVIA stock opened at $260.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.62. IQVIA has a one year low of $154.50 and a one year high of $265.25.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The medical research company reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.10% and a return on equity of 30.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.81 EPS. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.800-13.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that IQVIA will post 11.57 EPS for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.16, for a total transaction of $1,245,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 20,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,232,110.84. This trade represents a 19.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Keriann Cherofsky sold 558 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.21, for a total transaction of $136,827.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $732,932.69. The trade was a 15.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,913 shares of company stock valued at $3,098,793 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of IQVIA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in IQVIA during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in IQVIA in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Company Profile

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real?world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA’s principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real?world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.