Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Mizuho set a $216.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.47.

Icon Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $104.66 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $165.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.02. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Icon has a one year low of $66.57 and a one year high of $211.00.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Icon by 67.4% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,045,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,946 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 739.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $573,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P bought a new position in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter valued at $238,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Icon by 555.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $272,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,095 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Icon in the second quarter worth $158,639,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

Icon plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon’s service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.