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

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $178.18, but opened at $165.75. Icon shares last traded at $163.7160, with a volume of 178,616 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Icon from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $164.00 price target on shares of Icon in a report on Monday, June 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $168.73.

Icon Trading Down 5.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $154.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.54.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.43 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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. grew its position in Icon by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 541 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Icon by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 391 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Icon by 12.6% in the 4th 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, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 72 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.