Medpace Holdings, Inc. $MEDP Stake Boosted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group increased its stake in Medpace by 85.6% in Q4, owning 7,759 shares valued at about $4.36 million after buying an additional 3,579 shares.
• Medpace President Jesse J. Geiger sold 31,707 shares for roughly $14.44 million on March 17, reducing his direct ownership by about 67.9% to 15,000 shares.
• Medpace beat quarterly EPS ($4.67 vs. $4.18) and revenue estimates and set FY2026 guidance, but the stock is under legal pressure from multiple class-action filings and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $486.67 target.

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) by 85.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,759 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,579 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Medpace were worth $4,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Medpace in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Medpace in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Medpace in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Medpace in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Medpace in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.98% of the company's stock.

Medpace Price Performance

Shares of Medpace stock opened at $520.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.39. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $250.05 and a 52-week high of $628.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $537.94.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The company reported $4.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $708.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $689.53 million. Medpace had a return on equity of 118.82% and a net margin of 17.83%.The firm's revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Medpace has set its FY 2026 guidance at 16.680-17.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MEDP. Zacks Research cut Medpace from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Medpace from $555.00 to $539.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho set a $582.00 price target on Medpace in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays upgraded Medpace from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $500.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Medpace in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $522.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $486.67.

Medpace News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Medpace this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Market/technical note: Medpace’s relative strength rating reportedly rose to 82, a signal some traders use to justify momentum buying. Stocks to watch: Medpace Holdings sees relative strength rating rise to 82
• Neutral Sentiment: Procedural deadline reminder: Several firms (e.g., Faruqi & Faruqi) remind investors there’s a June 8, 2026 deadline to seek lead‑plaintiff status — procedural notices that maintain public attention but don’t by themselves change fundamentals. MEDP INVESTOR DEADLINE APPROACHING
• Negative Sentiment: New class‑action filing/solicitation: Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman says a class action has been filed against Medpace and certain officers covering Apr 22, 2025–Feb 9, 2026 — this is the primary legal catalyst investors will watch. Bronstein class action notice
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms seek clients/lead‑plaintiff roles (Robbins Geller, Gross Law Firm, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Rosen, Pomerantz, Frank R. Cruz, SueWallSt, Rosen/others) — this concentrated legal publicity increases the chance of follow‑on litigation costs and management distraction. Example: Robbins Geller urges investors to act. Robbins Geller investor alert
• Negative Sentiment: Additional firm notices and press pieces (Gross Law Firm, Bragar Eagel & Squire, Rosen Law Firm, Frank R. Cruz, Pomerantz, SueWallSt) further amplify the claims and the investor outreach, keeping the stock under legal/PR pressure. Example: Gross Law Firm alert. Gross Law Firm alert
• Negative Sentiment: Local/regional coverage highlights plaintiff‑opportunity: Bakersfield and other outlets reiterate the chance for investors to lead the suit, sustaining media attention on the litigation risk. Bakersfield/AP coverage

Insider Activity

In other Medpace news, President Jesse J. Geiger sold 31,707 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the president directly owned 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,829,500. This represents a 67.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medpace Company 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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