ICON (ICLR) News Today

ICON PLC (NASDAQ:ICLR) is trading higher today on a wave of analyst upgrades, price-target increases and strong post-earnings activity. Below is a summary of the key developments driving investor sentiment.

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Mizuho lifted their price target to $225 and maintained an “outperform” rating, signaling roughly a 20.3% upside. Mizuho Price-Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird upgraded ICLR from “neutral” to “outperform” and boosted its target to $224 (up from $150). Baird Outperform Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its target to $234 (from $187) and kept a “buy” rating, pointing to a 25.1% potential gain. Truist Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: UBS increased its price objective to $240 (from $170) while reaffirming a “buy” stance, implying a 28.3% upside. UBS Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its target to $240 (from $170) and kept an “outperform” rating, reflecting a 28.3% upside. Evercore ISI Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Leerink boosted its price target to $240 from $195. Leerink Price-Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: ICLR saw unusually high trading volume following an earnings beat, suggesting strong investor interest. Trading Volume Spike
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $180 (from $155) but kept an “equal weight” rating, implying a slight downside. Barclays Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: ICON updated its FY 2025 guidance with EPS of $13.00–$14.00 (consensus $13.26) and revenue of $7.9–$8.2 billion (in line). FY 2025 Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Seeking Alpha notes sector headwinds from high rates and trial delays, but highlights ICLR’s ~7% free-cash-flow yield and expanded buyback plan. SA Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 2025 earnings call transcript is now available, offering deeper management insights. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful change through July, limiting any near-term short-squeeze risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 EPS of $3.16 slightly missed the $3.18 consensus, with a 9.25% net margin. Earnings Miss