ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

ICLR has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on ICON Public from $349.00 to $373.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on ICON Public in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a buy rating and a $370.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of ICON Public in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Robert W. Baird reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $368.00 price objective on shares of ICON Public in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on ICON Public from $355.00 to $350.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $351.67.

ICON Public Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $289.81 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $320.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.36. ICON Public has a 52 week low of $221.20 and a 52 week high of $347.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. ICON Public had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that ICON Public will post 14.54 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ICON Public

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in ICON Public by 22.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ICON Public by 17.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Motco grew its holdings in shares of ICON Public by 1.5% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 3,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in shares of ICON Public by 5.7% during the first quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,135 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of ICON Public during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ICON Public

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.