Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given New $240.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its price target for Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) from $170.00 to $240.00, indicating a potential upside of 29.51%.
• Various analysts have given mixed ratings for Icon, with some reducing their price objectives while others, like Evercore ISI, have raised their targets, showing a "buy" rating on the stock.
• Icon's stock price recently dropped to $185.31, with the company experiencing year-over-year revenue declines despite exceeding earnings expectations.
• Approximately 95.61% of Icon's stock is currently owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at UBS Group from $170.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the medical research company's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 30.84% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on ICLR. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Icon from $170.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen downgraded Icon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $254.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Icon from $200.00 to $173.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird raised Icon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Icon from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.54.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR traded down $6.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $183.44. 840,731 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,322,927. The company has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.29. Icon has a one year low of $125.10 and a one year high of $338.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.74 and a 200 day moving average of $163.21.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.08. Icon had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 9.82%. The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. Icon's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Icon will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Icon during the 1st quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Icon by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.