Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $139.63, but opened at $150.00. Icon shares last traded at $158.89, with a volume of 631,821 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICLR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Icon from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lowered Icon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $254.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Icon from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Icon from $173.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Icon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.54.

Icon Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.46 and a 200 day moving average of $164.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.17.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Icon had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. Icon's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 13.38 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Icon during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Icon in the second quarter valued at $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Icon by 44.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the first quarter valued at about $59,000. 95.61% of the stock is currently 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.