Wedbush Securities Inc. Makes New Investment in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV)

Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,452 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 295.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in IQVIA in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in IQVIA by 66.1% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 191 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of IQVIA from $185.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on IQVIA from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on IQVIA from $232.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.62.

Insider Transactions at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.05, for a total value of $1,102,290.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,165,178.90. This trade represents a 17.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Keriann Cherofsky sold 549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.53, for a total transaction of $105,149.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $557,352.30. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV opened at $199.17 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.30. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.65 and a 52 week high of $252.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.04. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.05% and a net margin of 7.88%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA Company Profile

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.