Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Strong Earnings

Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. Approximately 182,992 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session's volume of 239,993 shares.The stock last traded at $365.34 and had previously closed at $376.26.

The company reported $3.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.45 by $0.75. Medpace had a net margin of 15.00% and a return on equity of 63.98%. The business had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.39 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MEDP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Medpace in a research report on Monday, March 18th. They set a "hold" rating and a $395.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $340.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Medpace from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group upgraded shares of Medpace from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $282.00 to $452.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Medpace from $312.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medpace

In other news, CEO August J. Troendle sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,833,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,940,186.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Ashley M. Keating sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.87, for a total transaction of $102,467.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,467.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO August J. Troendle sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.98, for a total transaction of $41,298,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,833,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,940,186.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 189,340 shares of company stock worth $76,651,647. Insiders own 20.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Medpace

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medpace during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Medpace during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Medpace during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medpace during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its position in shares of Medpace by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 101 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.98% of the company's stock.

Medpace Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 45.85, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $397.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.14.

Medpace Company Profile

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.