Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) was upgraded by UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ICLR. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. William Blair upgraded Icon to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.40.

Icon Price Performance

ICLR opened at $169.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a PE ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $143.97. Icon has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $203.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. Icon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Icon will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Icon

In other news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of Icon stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $875,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $673,225. The trade was a 56.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Climax sold 5,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $365,225. This trade represents a 70.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 22,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,887,139 in the last ninety days. 44.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICLR. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Icon by 10.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,481,000 after purchasing an additional 310,236 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 239,808 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Icon by 27.1% in the second quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $266,725,000 after purchasing an additional 327,314 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Icon by 555.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $272,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,095 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Icon by 257.8% during the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $208,383,000 after purchasing an additional 864,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research and clinical development organization headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company provides outsourced services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government organizations, supporting the development and commercialization of healthcare products.

Its services span clinical trial management, clinical and regulatory consulting, data management, biostatistics, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services, medical imaging and commercialization support.