Wall Street Zen Downgrades IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) to Hold

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IQV. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on IQVIA from $290.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $215.00 price objective on IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on IQVIA from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $225.00 price objective on IQVIA in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $224.13.

IQVIA Stock Performance

IQV stock opened at $183.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.12 and a 200-day moving average of $194.94. IQVIA has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $247.04.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.IQVIA’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that IQVIA will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IQV. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 244.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 4,915 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the second quarter worth $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 14.8% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 92,015 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $14,501,000 after acquiring an additional 11,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 5.4% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 22,731 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real‑world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA’s principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real‑world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.