Short Interest in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Declines By 9.7%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 997,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $7,936,289.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,031,894. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total value of $7,936,289.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,285 shares of company stock valued at $10,331,003 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IQVIA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IQV. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,078,187 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,877,071,000 after acquiring an additional 704,278 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in IQVIA by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,942,761 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,335,754,000 after purchasing an additional 952,850 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 2.2% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,804,161 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $754,864,000 after buying an additional 81,501 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,889,263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $568,460,000 after buying an additional 80,189 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,418,392 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $532,070,000 after buying an additional 93,194 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IQV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on IQVIA from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on IQVIA from $226.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays upped their target price on IQVIA from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BTIG Research began coverage on IQVIA in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $285.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of IQVIA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.80.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQV traded down $3.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $231.15. The company had a trading volume of 609,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,119. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $243.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.50. IQVIA has a 52-week low of $167.42 and a 52-week high of $261.73.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.80 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 29.32%. The business's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that IQVIA will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.