Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $157.4667.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ICLR shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 price target on Icon in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price objective on Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Icon and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $222.00 target price (down from $231.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Icon Stock Down 3.1%

ICLR opened at $107.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.35. Icon has a one year low of $66.57 and a one year high of $211.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Icon by 67.4% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,045,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,946 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Icon by 739.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $573,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new stake in Icon during the second quarter worth about $238,256,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Icon by 555.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $272,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter worth about $158,639,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.