Brokerages Set Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Price Target at $173.19

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $173.1875.

ICLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on Icon from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Icon to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $811,499,000 after buying an additional 975,268 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its holdings in 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 worth $767,996,000 after acquiring an additional 75,843 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Icon by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,756,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,582,000 after acquiring an additional 329,266 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $366,481,000 after acquiring an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Icon by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $545,410,000 after acquiring an additional 239,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ICLR traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $167.72. 308,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 912,130. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 1.22. Icon has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $211.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.07. Icon had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 5.35%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Icon will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.