Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Short Interest Down 29.2% in February

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,000,193 shares, a drop of 29.2% from the January 29th total of 2,823,591 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,988,199 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,988,199 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICLR. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Icon by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,045,039,000 after buying an additional 2,893,946 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Icon by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,637,137 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $811,499,000 after buying an additional 975,268 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its stake in Icon by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 4,214,661 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $767,996,000 after acquiring an additional 75,843 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,756,896 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $684,582,000 after purchasing an additional 329,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Icon by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,752,008 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $545,730,000 after purchasing an additional 650,379 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of ICLR traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,383,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,618. The company has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.34. Icon has a 1-year low of $66.57 and a 1-year high of $211.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ICLR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price target on Icon and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $216.00 target price on Icon in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $222.00 price target (down from $231.00) on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Icon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $183.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Icon presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.47.

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.