Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Trading Up 4.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Icon Plc's stock price rose by 4.6%, reaching a high of $172.97 before closing at $170.91, despite a significant decrease in trading volume.
• Analyst upgrades include UBS Group raising their target price to $240.00 and Rothschild Redb upgrading to a "strong-buy" rating, contributing to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $216.67.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.26, beating estimates, although revenue decreased by 4.8% year-over-year, with guidance for FY 2025 set at 13.000-14.000 EPS.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 4.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $172.97 and last traded at $170.91. Approximately 505,420 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,262,631 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ICLR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 report on Thursday, August 21st. Rothschild Redb upgraded Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Baird R W raised shares of Icon from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Icon from $222.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.67.

Icon Stock Up 7.1%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $172.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.42. The company has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 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 (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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Icon had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. Icon has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.000-14.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Icon Plc will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,045,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,893,946 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at $238,256,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at $158,639,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 587.9% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,151,328 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $167,461,000 after purchasing an additional 983,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at $94,814,000. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

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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