Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on ICON plc, with seven buys, seven holds, two sells and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $170.07.
• ICON shares opened at $164.11, down 3.3%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.56—slightly above expectations—and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 2.3% year over year.
• Insiders sold 22,796 shares worth $3.89 million during the last quarter, while institutional investors hold 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $170.0667.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ICLR shares. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on Icon in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners set a $145.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Icon to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. 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 research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, August 26th.

Insider Transactions at Icon

In related news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of the company'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 sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $673,225. This represents a 56.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John Climax sold 5,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $365,225. The trade was a 70.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,796 shares of company stock worth $3,887,139. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Icon by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 147,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Icon by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,728 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,011,000 after purchasing an additional 62,225 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings 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 valued at $266,725,000 after purchasing an additional 327,314 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 257.8% in the second 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.

Icon Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ ICLR opened at $164.11 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $167.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.18. 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 stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 38.52, a PEG ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 1.20. Icon has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $203.91.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Icon will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Icon Company Profile

ICON plc is a contract research and development organization that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government clients. The company helps sponsors plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the progression of new medicines and healthcare products from early research through regulatory approval and commercialization.

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.