Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Price Up 8.5% – Time to Buy?

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR)’s share price was up 8.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $186.64 and last traded at $183.0990. Approximately 224,860 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,410,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $168.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ICLR shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Icon from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $126.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Icon from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.73.

Icon Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a PEG ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $152.21 and its 200 day moving average is $135.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Icon by 19.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,094,000 after buying an additional 4,546 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Icon by 97.6% during the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 71,360 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,379,000 after buying an additional 35,253 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the 2nd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Icon by 58.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.