Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) CFO Sells 2,267 Shares

Key Points

• Icon CFO Nigel Clerkin sold 2,267 shares at an average price of $164.29, generating $372,445. The sale, which reduced his direct ownership by 27.82%, was made to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards.
• Icon’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded expectations, with EPS of $2.56 versus the $2.55 consensus and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 2.3% year over year.
• Shares recently traded at $167.17, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $170.40; institutional investors own 95.61% of the stock.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) CFO Nigel Bernard John Clerkin sold 2,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $372,445.43. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,189.49. This trade represents a 27.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Icon Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ICLR traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 804,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,385,099. Icon Plc has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $203.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.88 and a beta of 1.21. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.31.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EFG International AG bought a new stake in shares of Icon in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Icon during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Icon by 21.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Icon in the third quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Icon by 207.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 658 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ICLR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Icon from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $209.00 price target (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. William Blair raised Icon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $194.00 target price on Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.40.

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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