Insider Selling: Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) CEO Sells $1,069,465.50 in Stock

Key Points

• ICON CEO Barry Balfe sold 5,175 shares for about $1.07 million at an average price of $206.66. The sale covered tax withholding on vested equity awards, and he retained 9,291 shares.
• ICON shares fell 0.7% to $203.77 in Tuesday trading. The company’s latest quarter beat analyst estimates for earnings and revenue, though revenue declined 0.9% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $213.76.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) CEO Barry Balfe sold 5,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.66, for a total transaction of $1,069,465.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,920,078.06. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Barry Edward Balfe also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 10th, Barry Balfe sold 382 shares of Icon stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.07, for a total value of $62,674.74.

Icon Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR traded down $1.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $203.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,096,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,264,512. The company has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.07, a PEG ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $172.62 and its 200 day moving average is $146.63. Icon Plc has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $219.04.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 5.45%. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.31 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ICLR. William Blair raised shares of Icon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Icon from $209.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Icon from $195.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $228.00 price target on Icon in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Icon presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.76.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Icon during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Icon by 21.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Icon by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Icon by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 866 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Icon by 1,062.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 839 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

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

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