ICON (NASDAQ:ICLR) Sees Large Volume Increase After Earnings Beat

Shares of ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 2,249,984 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 72% from the previous session's volume of 1,309,037 shares.The stock last traded at $199.05 and had previously closed at $167.89.

The medical research company reported $3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.75 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on ICON from $173.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup lowered their price target on ICON from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on ICON from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on ICON from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised ICON from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $224.00 in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.54.

Institutional Trading of ICON

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of ICON by 22.8% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ICON during the first quarter worth about $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 worth $119,730,000 after purchasing an additional 67,988 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new stake in shares of ICON during the first quarter worth about $862,000. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in ICON by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company's stock.

ICON Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.57 and a 200-day moving average of $163.41. 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 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.