Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Rating Increased to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $224.00 target price on the medical research company's stock, up from their previous target price of $150.00. Robert W. Baird's target price indicates a potential upside of 14.18% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on ICLR. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Icon from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Icon from $200.00 to $173.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Icon from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Icon from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Icon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.42.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ICLR traded up $28.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $196.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,136,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,650. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $141.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.54. Icon has a 1 year low of $125.10 and a 1 year high of $338.67. The stock has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.17.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Icon had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 11.46%. The firm's revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Icon will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in Icon by 2.6% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 2,993,652 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $435,427,000 after buying an additional 75,465 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. raised its stake in shares of Icon by 20.5% during the second quarter. Ninety One North America Inc. now owns 428,851 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $62,376,000 after purchasing an additional 72,945 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Icon by 15,701.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,421 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $119,730,000 after purchasing an additional 67,988 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Icon by 29.2% during the second quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 107,218 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $15,595,000 after purchasing an additional 24,260 shares during the period. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Icon by 112.0% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,456 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,448,000 after purchasing an additional 19,789 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Icon

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.

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