Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,258 Shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Free Report) by 38.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,205 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Medpace were worth $2,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Medpace in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Medpace in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Medpace during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Medpace during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Medpace by 213.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 345 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.98% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MEDP. UBS Group raised Medpace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $282.00 to $452.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Medpace in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $395.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medpace from $446.00 to $454.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Medpace from $453.00 to $464.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $443.00.

Medpace Stock Performance

Shares of Medpace stock traded down $14.49 on Wednesday, hitting $387.61. The stock had a trading volume of 250,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,902. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $398.00 and a 200 day moving average of $334.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.64, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.40. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.39 and a twelve month high of $421.00.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $511.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $512.39 million. Medpace had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 59.74%. The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medpace news, major shareholder Medpace Investors, Llc sold 13,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.39, for a total value of $5,404,823.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,525,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,135,175,298.01. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 100,000 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.98, for a total transaction of $41,298,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,833,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,940,186.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Medpace Investors, Llc sold 13,988 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.39, for a total transaction of $5,404,823.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,525,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,135,175,298.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 204,442 shares of company stock valued at $82,702,867 in the last three months. Insiders own 20.30% of the company's stock.

About Medpace

Medpace Holdings, Inc provides clinical research-based drug and medical device development services in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a suite of services supporting the clinical development process from Phase I to Phase IV in various therapeutic areas. It provides clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries; and development plan design, coordinated central laboratory, project management, regulatory affairs, clinical monitoring, data management and analysis, pharmacovigilance new drug application submissions, and post-marketing clinical support services.