IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $249.05.

Several research analysts have weighed in on IQV shares. Barclays cut their price target on IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and set a $248.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on IQVIA from $273.00 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on IQVIA from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

IQVIA Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of IQVIA stock opened at $185.40 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $196.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. IQVIA has a 1 year low of $179.28 and a 1 year high of $256.34.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that IQVIA will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,131,734 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,956,087,000 after acquiring an additional 105,504 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,282,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $841,461,000 after buying an additional 712,958 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,175,524 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $818,315,000 after buying an additional 77,981 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 38.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,887,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,213,000 after buying an additional 804,963 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $509,012,000 after buying an additional 902,226 shares in the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.