Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised Icon’s price target from $210 to $249 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying 16.27% upside from the previous close.
• Icon’s shares opened at $214.16 after rising 17%, near their 12-month high of $214.94. The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.66 per share, slightly above analyst expectations, while revenue declined 0.9% year over year to $2.02 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Icon has an average “Hold” rating and consensus price target of $194.94. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the stock, while insiders have sold $3.94 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $210.00 to $249.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the medical research company's stock. Robert W. Baird's price target indicates a potential upside of 16.27% from the stock's previous close.

ICLR has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Icon from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group began coverage on Icon in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Icon from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $194.94.

Icon Stock Up 17.0%

Shares of ICLR opened at $214.16 on Thursday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $170.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.19. Icon has a 12-month low of $66.57 and a 12-month high of $214.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.04. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.31 earnings per share. Icon's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Icon will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,225. This represents a 56.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bernard Clerkin sold 2,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $372,445.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 5,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,189.49. This trade represents a 27.82% 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 have sold a total of 23,068 shares of company stock valued at $3,936,744 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Icon in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Icon during the third quarter worth $571,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Icon during the third quarter worth $907,000. Gibbs Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Icon in the third quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Icon by 8.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,625 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $3,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Icon Company Profile

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

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

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