IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $198.52, but opened at $216.66. IQVIA shares last traded at $208.6820, with a volume of 156,821 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on IQV shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of IQVIA from $230.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price target on IQVIA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen cut IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised IQVIA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.71.

IQVIA Trading Up 3.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.73 and its 200-day moving average is $187.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.20.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in IQVIA by 244.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 4,915 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA in the second quarter valued at about $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in IQVIA by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 92,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,501,000 after acquiring an additional 11,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IQVIA

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.