Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group downgraded Medpace's stock rating from "neutral" to "sell," setting a price target of $305.00, indicating a potential downside of 32.68% from its current price.
• In contrast, Truist Financial raised its price target on Medpace to $436.00 while maintaining a "hold" rating, showcasing diverging analyst opinions on the stock.
• The company's recent earnings report exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $3.10 and a year-over-year revenue increase of 14.2%.

UBS Group downgraded shares of Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $305.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $300.00.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on MEDP. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Medpace in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Medpace from $300.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Medpace from $313.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cowen cut Medpace from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Medpace from $298.00 to $436.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $406.60.

Medpace Price Performance

Shares of MEDP stock traded down $4.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $423.09. 517,813 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,163. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.47. Medpace has a fifty-two week low of $250.05 and a fifty-two week high of $501.30. The stock's fifty day moving average is $330.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.49.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The company reported $3.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $603.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $537.70 million. Medpace had a net margin of 18.74% and a return on equity of 67.66%. The firm's revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.75 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Medpace will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medpace news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 48,487 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin M. Brady sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.23, for a total value of $5,450,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,725,380. This represents a 66.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,788 shares of company stock worth $51,018,354. 20.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medpace

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEDP. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medpace by 64.9% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 94 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Medpace by 244.8% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 100 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Medpace by 47.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Medpace by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Medpace during the first quarter valued at $60,000. 77.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.