Royal Bank of Canada Buys 62,225 Shares of Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Icon stake by 68% in the first quarter, purchasing 62,225 additional shares for a total of 153,728 shares valued at approximately $17 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.61% of Icon.
• Icon reported quarterly revenue of $2.06 billion, up 2.3% year over year and above analyst expectations, while adjusted earnings of $2.56 per share narrowly exceeded estimates.
• Icon shares recently traded at $161.17, while analyst targets range from $150 to $197. Despite several positive ratings, the overall analyst consensus remains “Hold”, with an average price target of $170.40.

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 153,728 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,225 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.19% of Icon worth $17,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EFG International AG bought a new stake in Icon during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Icon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Icon by 207.5% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 658 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Icon during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Icon Stock Down 1.4%

Icon stock opened at $161.17 on Friday. Icon Plc has a one year low of $66.57 and a one year high of $203.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.78 and a 200 day moving average of $134.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.21.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on ICLR shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson set a $164.00 price objective on Icon in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, William Blair upgraded Icon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.40.

Icon Profile

Icon plc NASDAQ: ICLR is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon's service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.

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