Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $205.3125.

ICLR has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price target on Icon in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Icon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Icon from $183.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Icon from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday.

Icon Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $179.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.76. Icon has a 52-week low of $125.10 and a 52-week high of $228.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Icon by 67.4% in the 2nd 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. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. boosted its stake in Icon by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 50,212 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,303,000 after acquiring an additional 11,894 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Icon by 11.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 531,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $77,292,000 after purchasing an additional 53,458 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in Icon in the second quarter valued at approximately $82,264,000. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Icon in the second quarter worth $403,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.