Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• Icon exceeded quarterly expectations: The contract research organization reported EPS of $2.66, beating consensus by $0.04, while revenue reached $2.02 billion versus the $2.01 billion estimate.
• Shares traded at $182.98 after falling $0.80, with the stock remaining well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Icon’s market capitalization was approximately $14.01 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: The stock has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $174.73, while insiders sold $3.94 million of shares over the past 90 days, primarily to cover tax obligations tied to equity vesting.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%.

Icon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR traded down $0.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $182.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 889,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,245,672. Icon has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.95, a P/E/G ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $169.15 and its 200-day moving average is $146.16.

Insider Activity at Icon

In other Icon news, 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 value of $372,445.43. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,189.49. This represents a 27.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ciaran Murray sold 2,677 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $439,804.33. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,452 shares in the company, valued at $3,360,059.08. This represents a 11.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 23,068 shares of company stock valued at $3,936,744 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 44.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 price target on Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Icon from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $174.73.

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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