Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Ronan Martin Murphy Sells 5,005 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Icon director Ronan Martin Murphy sold 5,005 shares at an average price of $175, generating $875,875 and reducing his direct stake by 56.54% to 3,847 shares.
• Icon shares opened at $169.68, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.56 and revenue of $2.06 billion, narrowly beating analyst expectations and increasing revenue 2.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $170.40; institutional investors own 95.61% of the company.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $673,225. This trade represents a 56.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ronan Martin Murphy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 11th, Ronan Murphy sold 841 shares of Icon stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $138,167.89.

Icon Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of ICLR stock opened at $169.68 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $167.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.01. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $203.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a P/E/G ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICLR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, William Blair raised Icon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $170.40.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICLR. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,876,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 147,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,728 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,011,000 after purchasing an additional 62,225 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Icon by 27.1% during the second quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $266,725,000 after purchasing an additional 327,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Icon by 257.8% in the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $208,383,000 after purchasing an additional 864,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

About Icon

ICON plc is a contract research and development organization that provides services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government clients. The company helps sponsors plan, manage and execute clinical development programs, supporting the progression of new medicines and healthcare products from early research through regulatory approval and commercialization.

Its services include clinical trial design and management, clinical data management, biostatistics, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting, medical affairs, laboratory services and real-world evidence.

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