Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Medpace Holdings, Inc. experienced a significant drop in share price, opening at $431.89 after insider selling, down from a previous close of $453.05.
• CFO Kevin M. Brady sold 12,000 shares at an average price of $454.23, reducing his ownership by 66.67%.
• Recent analyst reports have resulted in mixed ratings for Medpace, with some increasing price targets while others issued sell ratings, reflecting uncertainty regarding the stock's future performance.

Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $453.05, but opened at $431.89. Medpace shares last traded at $436.74, with a volume of 47,294 shares changing hands.

Specifically, General Counsel Stephen P. Ewald sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 10,343 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,350. This trade represents a 22.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO August J. Troendle sold 48,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.69, for a total value of $21,901,093.03. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 962,615 shares in the company, valued at $434,803,569.35. This represents a 4.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, VP Susan E. Burwig sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.14, for a total transaction of $3,376,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 57,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,883,050. This represents a 11.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MEDP. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Medpace in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Medpace from $300.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $366.00 target price (up from $283.00) on shares of Medpace in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Medpace from $270.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Medpace from $298.00 to $436.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Medpace currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $406.60.

Medpace Trading Down 2.3%

The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50-day moving average is $328.27 and its 200-day moving average is $322.97.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The company reported $3.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.10. Medpace had a return on equity of 67.66% and a net margin of 18.74%. The business had revenue of $603.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $537.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medpace

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Medpace in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,318,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Medpace by 37.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 307 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medpace by 347.6% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,248 shares of the company's stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP bought a new position in shares of Medpace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,372,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Medpace by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.98% of the company's stock.

About Medpace

Medpace Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of outsourced clinical development services to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Its services include medical department, clinical trial management, data-driven feasibility, study-start-up, clinical monitoring, regulatory affairs, patient recruitment and retention, medical writing, biometrics and data sciences, pharmacovigilance, core laboratory, laboratories, clinics, and quality assurance.