ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $304.27.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of ICON Public from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on ICON Public from $375.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on ICON Public in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $311.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird cut shares of ICON Public from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on ICON Public from $370.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICON Public

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of ICON Public during the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ICON Public during the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ICON Public by 50.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ICON Public by 17.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in ICON Public by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 415 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

ICON Public Stock Performance

Shares of ICLR stock opened at $212.27 on Wednesday. ICON Public has a 52-week low of $208.65 and a 52-week high of $347.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $273.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.25.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.72 by ($0.37). ICON Public had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.10 EPS. ICON Public’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ICON Public will post 13.43 EPS for the current year.

About ICON Public

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.