IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Stock Price Down 5% Following Analyst Downgrade

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) shares dropped 5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $288.00 to $279.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. IQVIA traded as low as $215.00 and last traded at $216.84. Approximately 224,873 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,059,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.31.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of IQVIA from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial cut their price target on IQVIA from $300.00 to $286.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Argus upgraded IQVIA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $266.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.33, for a total transaction of $320,229.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,302.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of IQVIA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 4.9% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,346 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in IQVIA during the third quarter valued at about $57,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in IQVIA by 1.1% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 29,352 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,955,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in IQVIA by 1.3% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $941,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in IQVIA by 3.8% during the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 10,393 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,463,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Stock Down 7.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $238.71 and a 200-day moving average of $230.92.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.59% and a net margin of 9.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.