Inspire Investing LLC Raises Holdings in Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Icon Plc by 42.2% during Q2, now owning 14,691 shares valued at approximately $2.14 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Farther Finance Advisors and Handelsbanken Fonder, also boosted their stakes in Icon Plc, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Analysts have upgraded Icon's stock, with a consensus target price of $217.33 and ratings showing a majority leaning towards Buy or Strong Buy.

Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,691 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,362 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Icon were worth $2,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Icon by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Icon by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 25,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,533,000 after buying an additional 5,229 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in Icon during the 1st quarter valued at $862,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Icon by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Icon during the 1st quarter valued at $101,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild Redb upgraded Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Icon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $236.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $217.33.

Icon Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $183.49 on Friday. Icon Plc has a 12 month low of $125.10 and a 12 month high of $301.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business's 50-day moving average is $174.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.02.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during 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%.Icon's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. Icon has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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