Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) was the target of a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,000,193 shares, a decline of 29.2% from the January 29th total of 2,823,591 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,988,199 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 4.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,988,199 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Icon Trading Up 0.4%

ICLR stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,213,537 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,270,518. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $158.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.82. Icon has a 12 month low of $66.57 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $135.00 price target on shares of Icon and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $100.00 target price on shares of Icon and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Icon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $183.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Icon has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Icon by 67.4% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,045,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,946 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Icon by 739.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $573,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P acquired a new stake in shares of Icon during the second quarter worth $238,256,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Icon by 555.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $272,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,095 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Icon in the second quarter valued at about $158,639,000. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

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.