Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $202.92, but opened at $179.07. Icon shares last traded at $189.2030, with a volume of 870,918 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ICLR shares. Mizuho set a $216.00 price objective on Icon in a research note on Friday. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $217.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Icon in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Icon has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.81.

Icon Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.75. The stock has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.26.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Icon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Icon by 43.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,208 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Icon by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 5,022 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Miller Global Investments LLC bought a new position in Icon during the 4th quarter worth $422,000. Finally, WGI DM LLC increased its position in Icon by 26.5% in the third quarter. WGI DM LLC now owns 1,277,980 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $223,646,000 after buying an additional 267,888 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

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.