Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Shares Climb 6.7% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Medpace shares rose 6.7% to about $664 during mid-day trading, giving the company an approximately $18.04 billion market capitalization.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: three analysts rate the stock a Buy and ten rate it a Hold, producing a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $607.73; Mizuho recently raised its target to $700.
• Medpace reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.25 and revenue of $707.33 million, up 17.2% year over year. However, insiders sold roughly $208 million of stock over the past 90 days, including a $13.7 million sale by the CEO.

Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 6.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $661.99 and last traded at $664.0180. 256,301 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 326,005 shares. The stock had previously closed at $622.43.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MEDP shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Medpace from $665.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Leerink Partners set a $620.00 price target on Medpace in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Medpace from $547.00 to $624.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Medpace in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Medpace in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $673.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medpace has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $607.73.

Medpace Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a market cap of $18.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.18. The stock's 50-day moving average is $607.09 and its 200-day moving average is $534.49.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $4.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.27. Medpace had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 110.15%. The company had revenue of $707.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $689.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 17.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Medpace

In other news, CEO August Troendle sold 21,966 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $625.47, for a total transaction of $13,739,074.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 338,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $211,549,590.75. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 336,140 shares of company stock worth $208,008,328 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 20.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Medpace in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Medpace during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medpace during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medpace during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Medpace by 187.5% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.98% of the company's stock.

About Medpace

Medpace Holdings, Inc is a contract research organization (CRO) that provides clinical development services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies. The company supports sponsors throughout the development process, from early-stage planning and regulatory submissions through clinical trial execution, data management, analysis and reporting.

Medpace's services include Phase I through Phase IV clinical research, clinical monitoring, biostatistics, data management, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, regulatory consulting and central laboratory services.

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