Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Down 8.7% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Icon Plc shares dropped 8.7% to $175.80 during Thursday trading, significantly below the previous close of $192.60.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings; while Evercore ISI set a new target price of $240, Citigroup reduced theirs to $200.
• Institutional investors own 95.61% of the stock, indicating strong institutional interest despite the recent drop in share price.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) shares fell 8.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $180.00 and last traded at $175.80. 342,610 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,239,020 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ICLR shares. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Icon from $173.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Icon from $222.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised Icon from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $184.00 to $236.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $210.64.

Icon Price Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $178.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.23.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The medical research company reported $3.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Icon had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 50,212 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $7,303,000 after purchasing an additional 11,894 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Icon during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,565,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Icon during the second quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,060,499 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $157,887,000 after buying an additional 162,853 shares during the period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 193,851 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $28,196,000 after buying an additional 18,174 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.

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