Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Stake in Medpace Holdings, Inc. $MEDP

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management cut its Medpace stake by 37% in the fourth quarter, but still held 407,302 shares worth about $228.8 million, or roughly 1.45% of the company.
• Insider selling continued, with General Counsel Stephen P. Ewald and President Jesse J. Geiger both selling significant amounts of stock in recent months.
• Medpace reported a strong quarter, beating earnings and revenue estimates, but the stock faces a legal overhang as multiple law firms highlight an ongoing securities fraud class action.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) by 37.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 407,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 239,472 shares during the period. Medpace comprises 1.3% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 1.45% of Medpace worth $228,761,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MEDP. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medpace by 65.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,025,410 shares of the company's stock worth $518,170,000 after purchasing an additional 404,226 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Medpace by 205.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 314,150 shares of the company's stock worth $161,523,000 after acquiring an additional 211,411 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Medpace during the fourth quarter worth about $102,156,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in Medpace by 14.0% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 945,814 shares of the company's stock worth $296,853,000 after acquiring an additional 116,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Medpace by 24,930.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 101,373 shares of the company's stock worth $56,936,000 after acquiring an additional 100,968 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.98% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Medpace

In related news, General Counsel Stephen P. Ewald sold 16,349 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $7,357,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 20,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,154,350. This trade represents a 44.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Jesse J. Geiger sold 31,707 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.30, for a total transaction of $14,436,197.10. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,829,500. This trade represents a 67.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Medpace Price Performance

NASDAQ:MEDP opened at $451.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50-day moving average is $457.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $512.30. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $291.28 and a 1-year high of $628.92.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.74 by $0.54. Medpace had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 120.89%. The company had revenue of $706.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $697.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Medpace's revenue was up 26.5% on a year-over-year basis. Medpace has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.680-17.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 17.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Medpace

Here are the key news stories impacting Medpace this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms, including Rosen, Faruqi & Faruqi, Levi & Korsinsky, the Schall Law Firm, DJS Law Group, and others, reminded investors that a class action has been filed against Medpace and certain officers, keeping legal overhang and potential liability in focus. Article: MEDP Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Medpace Holdings, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit reminders may reinforce concerns that Medpace could face damages, legal costs, or reputational pressure if the allegations gain traction. Article: MEDP Investor Alert: Medpace Holdings Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit
• Neutral Sentiment: One disclosed insider transaction showed Medpace General Counsel Stephen P. Ewald sold 16,349 shares at $450 each, a move that may draw investor attention but does not by itself establish a broader business trend. Article: SEC Form 4 filing for Stephen P. Ewald

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MEDP. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Medpace from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Medpace from $460.00 to $400.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Medpace from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Medpace from $555.00 to $539.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $467.08.

Medpace Profile

Medpace Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: MEDP is a global contract research organization (CRO) that provides comprehensive clinical development services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The company supports clinical trials across all phases (I–IV), offering end-to-end solutions designed to streamline the development process and accelerate the delivery of new therapies to market.

Medpace's core service offerings include clinical pharmacology, regulatory affairs consulting, project management, central laboratory services, imaging, data management and biostatistics, pharmacovigilance and medical writing.

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