ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $280.76, but opened at $240.61. ICON Public shares last traded at $228.33, with a volume of 1,694,517 shares.

The medical research company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by ($0.37). The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. ICON Public had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 12.06%. ICON Public’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.10 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ICLR shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of ICON Public from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut shares of ICON Public from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered shares of ICON Public from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Baird R W lowered ICON Public from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on ICON Public from $370.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICON Public

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in ICON Public in the 2nd quarter valued at about $54,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of ICON Public in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of ICON Public by 410.8% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in ICON Public by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 261 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in ICON Public by 17.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 283 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

ICON Public Stock Down 0.6 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

ICON Public Company Profile

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.