Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Has Average Price Target of $174.73

Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.73.

A number of analysts have weighed in on ICLR shares. Barclays upped their price target on Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Icon from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Icon from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Icon from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Icon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $126.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Icon

In other Icon news, Director Ronan Murphy sold 5,005 shares of Icon stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $875,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $673,225. The trade was a 56.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ciaran Murray sold 2,677 shares of Icon stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $439,804.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,360,059.08. The trade was a 11.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 22,796 shares of company stock worth $3,887,139 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 44.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,481,000 after buying an additional 310,236 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Icon by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $266,725,000 after acquiring an additional 327,314 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Icon by 257.8% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $208,383,000 after acquiring an additional 864,300 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Icon by 50.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 788,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,262,000 after acquiring an additional 265,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Icon by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 475,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $86,630,000 after acquiring an additional 169,860 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Icon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $170.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Icon has a 12-month low of $66.57 and a 12-month high of $203.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $167.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.20.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.26 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Icon will post 9.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research and clinical development organization headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company provides outsourced services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government organizations, supporting the development and commercialization of healthcare products.

Its services span clinical trial management, clinical and regulatory consulting, data management, biostatistics, medical writing, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services, medical imaging and commercialization support.