Smith Group Asset Management LLC Sells 42,738 Shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. $MEDP

Key Points

• Smith Group Asset Management cut its Medpace stake by 39.1%, selling 42,738 shares and retaining 66,432 shares valued at approximately $41.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.98% of the company.
• Medpace reported quarterly EPS of $4.84, exceeding estimates of $4.44, while revenue rose 8.5% year over year to $716 million.
• Medpace shares opened at $692.68 near their 52-week high, but analyst sentiment remained cautious: the stock carries an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $649.27.

Smith Group Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) by 39.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,432 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,738 shares during the quarter. Medpace accounts for 2.7% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Smith Group Asset Management LLC owned 0.24% of Medpace worth $41,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Medpace during the second quarter worth $1,323,047,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medpace in the 2nd quarter valued at $128,956,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Medpace in the 2nd quarter valued at $116,891,000. American Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medpace in the 2nd quarter valued at $111,329,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Medpace during the 2nd quarter worth $80,979,000. 77.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medpace news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 21,966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $625.47, for a total value of $13,739,074.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 338,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $211,549,590.75. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Susan E. Burwig sold 3,940 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $677.00, for a total value of $2,667,380.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 54,012 shares in the company, valued at $36,566,124. The trade was a 6.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 341,402 shares of company stock worth $212,702,324 in the last 90 days. 20.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medpace Price Performance

Shares of Medpace stock opened at $692.68 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $616.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.18. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $373.00 and a fifty-two week high of $693.97.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.44 by $0.40. Medpace had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 99.76%. The company had revenue of $716.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $714.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 18.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MEDP. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Medpace in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $699.00 price objective on Medpace in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Leerink Partners set a $620.00 target price on Medpace in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Medpace from $625.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Medpace from $600.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medpace has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $649.27.

About Medpace

Medpace Holdings, Inc is a contract research organization (CRO) that provides clinical development services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The company supports sponsors throughout the development process, from early-stage planning and regulatory submissions through clinical trial execution, data management, analysis and reporting.

Medpace's services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical research, clinical monitoring, biostatistics, data management, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting and central laboratory services.

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