ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,390,000 shares, a decrease of 13.7% from the January 15th total of 1,610,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,130,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

ICON Public Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR traded up $3.57 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,663,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,099. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $249.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. ICON Public has a 12 month low of $181.51 and a 12 month high of $347.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICON Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in ICON Public by 12.3% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,020 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in ICON Public by 23.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of ICON Public by 5.0% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ICON Public by 33.9% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 597 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of ICON Public by 861.1% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 11,840 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ICLR. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on ICON Public from $249.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on ICON Public from $370.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of ICON Public in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of ICON Public in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of ICON Public from $369.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.92.

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.