Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 231,192 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,467 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $39,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 244.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of IQVIA by 102.1% during the 1st 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 position in shares of IQVIA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $514,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 14.8% during the 2nd 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 raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 5.4% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on IQV. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of IQVIA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. HSBC set a $210.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down from $225.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.56.

IQVIA Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of IQVIA stock opened at $186.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $174.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.06. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.50 and a 1 year high of $247.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $31.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.21.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. IQVIA had a net margin of 8.33% and a return on equity of 30.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.