VELA Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Icon Plc $ICLR

Key Points

• VELA Investment Management increased its Icon stake by 511.4% in the second quarter, owning 12,192 shares valued at approximately $2.12 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 95.61% of Icon’s stock.
• Icon directors sold shares primarily to cover tax withholding obligations related to vested equity awards. Insiders have sold 9,531 shares worth about $1.57 million over the past three months.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but improving, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.40. Icon’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded EPS estimates, while revenue rose 2.3% year over year to $2.06 billion.

VELA Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Free Report) by 511.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,192 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,198 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings in Icon were worth $2,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 21.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Icon by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,942 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $4,363,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Icon by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,146 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Icon by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 841 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $632,023.63. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Eugene Mccague sold 841 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,109.19. The trade was a 18.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,531 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,764. 44.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ICLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Icon from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $126.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research raised Icon from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Icon currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Icon Price Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $164.85 on Tuesday. Icon Plc has a one year low of $66.57 and a one year high of $203.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 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 analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Icon Plc will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

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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