Jefferies Financial Group Downgrades Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) to Hold

Key Points

• Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Jefferies Financial Group, with a new target price of $175.00 following a previous target of $220.00.
• Despite the downgrade, multiple other analysts have raised their price targets for Icon, with UBS Group lifting theirs to $240.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors own a significant 95.61% of Icon's stock, showcasing strong institutional support despite recent rating changes.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $175.00 price objective on the medical research company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $220.00.

ICLR has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Rothschild Redb upgraded Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Icon from $222.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $216.67.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ICLR traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $175.00. 1,597,382 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,290,390. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $167.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Icon has a one year low of $125.10 and a one year high of $310.54.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 9.82%.The company's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.75 EPS. Icon has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Icon will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Icon during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Icon during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Icon during the second quarter valued at about $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Icon by 44.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Icon during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Icon Company Profile

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.