Robert W. Baird Issues Positive Forecast for Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Price

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $168.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.59% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ICLR. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Icon from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Icon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Icon from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $175.00 price objective on Icon in a report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.94.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of ICLR stock opened at $158.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Icon has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $211.00.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.07. Icon had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Icon will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ICLR. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Icon by 11.5% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Icon by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Icon by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 643 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Icon by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,942 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,363,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.