Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 12,117 Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) by 42.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,117 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in IQVIA were worth $6,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IQV. Claret Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 4,527 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 1,814 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC grew its position in IQVIA by 5.1% during the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in IQVIA by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,792 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in IQVIA by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on IQV shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered IQVIA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of IQVIA from $230.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.88.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of IQVIA stock traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $207.54. 156,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,854,060. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $34.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.20. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.50 and a 52 week high of $247.04.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.07. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 8.33%.The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.650-12.950 EPS. Research analysts forecast that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 7th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real‑world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA’s principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real‑world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.