Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $139.10 and traded as high as $172.94. Icon shares last traded at $172.45, with a volume of 862,416 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research report on Monday, June 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 target price on Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Icon presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Icon Trading Down 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.58.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Icon

In other Icon news, Director Anne Whitaker sold 841 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146,382.39. The trade was a 48.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Eugene Mccague sold 841 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $626,109.19. This trade represents a 18.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 9,531 shares of company stock worth $1,565,764 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 555.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $272,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268,095 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Icon in the fourth quarter valued at $176,382,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Icon during the 4th quarter valued at $160,073,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Icon by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $208,383,000 after purchasing an additional 864,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the 4th quarter worth about $135,489,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

ICON plc is a contract research and development organization that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government clients. The company helps sponsors plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the progression of new medicines and healthcare products from early research through regulatory approval and commercialization.

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