Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Icon and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho set a $216.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, January 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 price target on Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 price objective on Icon in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.47.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of Icon stock opened at $106.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $160.76 and a 200 day moving average of $170.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Icon has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $211.00.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Icon by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Icon by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Icon by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 678 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Icon by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Icon by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. 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.