Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 55.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 397,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 142,170 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of IQVIA worth $70,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Terra Alpha Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 4.8% during the first quarter. Terra Alpha Investments LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,348,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in IQVIA by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,197 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $387,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA in the first quarter worth approximately $482,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in IQVIA by 178.4% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 323 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in IQVIA by 270.6% during the first quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,629 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on IQV. HSBC downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $160.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of IQVIA from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of IQVIA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.32.

IQVIA Stock Performance

IQV opened at $158.82 on Thursday. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.65 and a 52-week high of $252.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.30.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical research company reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA Profile

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.