Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 106,606 Shares of Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Icon Plc by 20.6% during Q1, selling 106,606 shares and owning approximately 0.51% of the company valued at $71.9 million.
• Several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC, have made significant investments in Icon Plc, with GAMMA increasing its stake by 15,701.6%, bringing its total holdings to 68,421 shares worth $119.73 million.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Icon, with estimates reaching up to $240, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $216.67.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,891 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 106,606 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.51% of Icon worth $71,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Icon by 22.8% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Icon in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in Icon in the first quarter valued at about $862,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Icon by 573.7% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,828 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 6,666 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Icon by 15,701.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $119,730,000 after acquiring an additional 67,988 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ICLR shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Icon from $187.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Icon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Icon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $236.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Rothschild Redb raised shares of Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Icon presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.67.

Icon Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $177.15. 244,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,277,298. Icon Plc has a fifty-two week low of $125.10 and a fifty-two week high of $305.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.53. The firm has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.20.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.08. Icon had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Icon has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Icon Company Profile

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.