Truist Financial Reaffirms Buy Rating for Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Key Points

• Truist Financial reaffirmed its “buy” rating on Icon and raised its price target from $207 to $209, implying approximately 26.3% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: seven analysts rate Icon a Buy, seven a Hold and two a Sell, resulting in a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.87.
• Icon’s latest quarterly results slightly exceeded expectations, with adjusted EPS of $2.56 versus $2.55 expected and revenue of $2.06 billion versus $2.00 billion estimated; institutional investors own 95.61% of the company.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by analysts at Truist Financial in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $209.00 target price on the medical research company's stock, up from their prior target price of $207.00. Truist Financial's target price points to a potential upside of 26.26% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Icon from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. DA Davidson set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Icon from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $126.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $168.87.

Icon Trading Down 7.1%

Shares of ICLR stock opened at $165.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.86, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 1.22. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $155.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.43. Icon has a 1 year low of $66.57 and a 1 year high of $203.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a return on equity of 8.04% 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 last year, the company earned $3.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Icon will post 9.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Icon by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $266,725,000 after purchasing an additional 327,314 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Icon by 463.8% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 71,817 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $12,475,000 after acquiring an additional 59,078 shares during the period. Polianta Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Icon during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Icon by 21.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Icon by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 866 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Icon Company Profile

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.

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