IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $253.99 and last traded at $254.9950, with a volume of 83184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $249.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IQV shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on IQVIA from $221.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $225.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho boosted their price target on IQVIA from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on IQVIA from $220.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. 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, IQVIA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.88.

IQVIA Trading Up 2.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $210.23 and its 200 day moving average is $186.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.18.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The medical research company reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for 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 company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.81 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.800-13.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at IQVIA

In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,000 shares of IQVIA 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 sale, the insider directly owned 20,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,232,110.84. This trade represents a 19.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bhavik Patel sold 1,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.27, for a total transaction of $436,425.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $317,143.96. The trade was a 57.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,913 shares of company stock valued at $3,098,793. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IQV. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 268.1% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 188,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $42,536,000 after purchasing an additional 137,441 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 36.0% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after acquiring an additional 3,161 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,444,000. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 79,400 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,898,000 after acquiring an additional 21,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA during the second quarter valued at about $976,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.