Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) CAO Sells $49,604.64 in Stock

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) CAO Emer Lyons sold 272 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.37, for a total transaction of $49,604.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 990 shares in the company, valued at $180,546.30. This represents a 21.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Icon Stock Performance

Shares of ICLR opened at $185.27 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $168.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.89. Icon Plc has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $203.91. The firm has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.49, a PEG ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 3.99%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on ICLR. William Blair raised shares of Icon to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Icon in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised Icon from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Icon by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Icon by 207.5% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 658 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Icon by 1,062.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 918 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Icon by 120.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Icon by 804.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,312 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Icon Company Profile

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

Its services include clinical trial management, medical and regulatory consulting, biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services and real-world evidence solutions.