Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Icon shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $174.44 and last trading at $173.48, up 0.7%. The stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages are $165.23 and $133.46, respectively.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $170.40. Recent targets range from Citigroup’s $180 to Truist Financial’s $209.
• Icon reported quarterly EPS of $2.56, slightly exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 2.3% year over year to $2.06 billion. Insiders sold $1.57 million of stock over the past 90 days, though institutional investors own 95.61% of shares.

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $133.46 and traded as high as $174.44. Icon shares last traded at $173.48, with a volume of 420,655 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Icon from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $209.00 target price (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Icon from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. William Blair raised shares of Icon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Icon to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $170.40.

Icon Stock Up 0.7%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $165.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.21.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Icon

In other Icon news, CFO Nigel Bernard John Clerkin sold 2,267 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $372,445.43. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,189.49. This represents a 27.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Ronan Martin Murphy sold 841 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $138,167.89. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $632,023.63. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 9,531 shares of company stock worth $1,565,764 over the last ninety days. 44.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Icon during the 4th quarter worth about $123,542,000. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Icon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,829,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Icon by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 147,715 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $26,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in Icon in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Icon by 68.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,728 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $17,011,000 after purchasing an additional 62,225 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Icon

Icon plc NASDAQ: ICLR is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon's service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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