Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The medical research company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.95 by $0.28, FiscalAI reports. Icon had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 10.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.99 billion.

Icon Price Performance

ICLR traded up $4.60 on Wednesday, reaching $118.45. 1,746,794 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,577,417. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $111.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.95. Icon has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $211.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Icon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $183.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Icon from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Leerink Partners set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Icon from $200.00 to $120.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,256,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $811,499,000 after acquiring an additional 975,268 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Icon by 1,207.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 739,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $129,372,000 after acquiring an additional 682,597 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Icon during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,814,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Icon by 453.0% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 767,924 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $139,931,000 after buying an additional 629,056 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Icon

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.