Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 47,251 Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has cut its stake in ICON PLC by 26.6%, reducing its holdings to 130,510 shares worth approximately $22.83 million.
• ICON's stock is currently trading at $166.44, with a market cap of $13.44 billion and a recent EPS of $3.26 that exceeded analysts' expectations.
• Recent analyst reports show varying outlooks for ICON, with price targets ranging from $150 to $265 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 26.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,510 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 47,251 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.16% of Icon worth $22,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Icon during the first quarter worth about $59,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Icon by 22.8% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Icon during the first quarter worth about $101,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Icon by 7.6% during the first quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Icon by 36.6% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ICLR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Mizuho upped their target price on Icon from $173.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Icon from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Baird R W upgraded Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Icon from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.54.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of ICLR traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 576,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,327,593. The stock has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.18, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Icon Plc has a 1-year low of $125.10 and a 1-year high of $328.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.15.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 9.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

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.