Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $200.60.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Icon from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Icon from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Icon in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Icon in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock.

Icon Trading Down 10.9%

Icon stock opened at $145.39 on Friday. Icon has a 12-month low of $125.10 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.93 and a 200 day moving average of $176.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Icon by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 11,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,057,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 15.7% in the third quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 480,104 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $84,018,000 after purchasing an additional 65,264 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the third quarter worth about $1,730,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Icon by 12.4% in the third quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 200,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,129,000 after buying an additional 22,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Icon by 739.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $573,526,000 after buying an additional 2,886,755 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Icon Company Profile

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.