Icon Plc (ICLR) – What Are Brokerages Saying About This Stock?

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.73.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ICLR. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th.

Icon Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $174.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.89, a PEG ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Icon has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $203.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.36.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.26 earnings per share. Icon’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Icon will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Icon news, Director Eugene Mccague sold 3,255 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $569,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,925. This represents a 46.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ciaran Murray sold 2,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $439,804.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,452 shares in the company, valued at $3,360,059.08. The trade was a 11.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 valued at $3,887,139 over the last ninety days. 44.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Icon by 27.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 327,314 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Icon by 257.8% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $208,383,000 after purchasing an additional 864,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 50.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 788,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,262,000 after purchasing an additional 265,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $86,630,000 after purchasing an additional 169,860 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

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