Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $213.08.

Several research firms have recently commented on ICLR. Citigroup reduced their price target on Icon from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen lowered Icon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $254.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Icon from $262.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Icon from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Icon from $192.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Icon Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of ICLR stock traded down $2.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $144.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,212,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,714. Icon has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $347.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day moving average is $139.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.17 by $0.02. Icon had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Icon will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 177,761 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,279,000 after purchasing an additional 11,177 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 158,947 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $33,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 2.6% in the first quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 99,627 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,525 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 15,701.6% in 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. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,038 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $13,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.