Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Upgraded at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group upgraded Icon to a “hold” rating, while analysts’ overall consensus remains “Hold” with an average price target of $172.40.
• Icon reported quarterly revenue of $2.06 billion, exceeding expectations of $2 billion, and adjusted earnings of $2.56 per share, slightly ahead of consensus; revenue grew 2.3% year over year.
• Shares opened at $169.99, near the consensus target, while insiders sold 22,796 shares worth approximately $3.9 million over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 95.61% of the stock.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

ICLR has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Icon has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $172.40.

Icon Stock Down 0.2%

ICLR opened at $169.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.20. The business's 50-day moving average price is $167.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Icon has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. Icon's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Icon will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Icon

In other Icon news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $875,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $673,225. This trade represents a 56.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eugene Mccague sold 3,255 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $569,625.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,925. This trade represents a 46.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,796 shares of company stock valued at $3,887,139 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 44.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $366,481,000 after purchasing an additional 310,236 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,993,336 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $545,410,000 after purchasing an additional 239,808 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Icon by 27.1% in the 2nd 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 boosted its position in shares of Icon by 555.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Icon by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $208,383,000 after buying an additional 864,300 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Icon Company Profile

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.

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