Short Interest in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Declines By 29.2%

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,000,193 shares, a drop of 29.2% from the January 29th total of 2,823,591 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,988,199 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 4.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,988,199 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 475,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $86,630,000 after buying an additional 169,860 shares during the period. Investment Insight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Icon during the 4th quarter worth $574,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Icon by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,193 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Icon by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,756,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,582,000 after purchasing an additional 329,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 41,059 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,482,000 after buying an additional 13,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $222.00 price target (down from $231.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Icon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price target on shares of Icon and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price objective on Icon and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Icon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $183.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.47.

Icon Stock Performance

Icon stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $108.27. 1,735,516 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,551,695. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.82. Icon has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00.

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.