Anne Clem Whitaker Sells 841 Shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Anne Clem Whitaker sold 841 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $138,167.89. Following the transaction, the director owned 891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $146,382.39. This represents a 48.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Icon Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ICLR opened at $167.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.04. 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 $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 1.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Icon Plc will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Icon News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Icon’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations: adjusted EPS was $2.56 versus the $2.55 consensus, while revenue of $2.06 billion topped estimates of $2.00 billion. Revenue also rose 2.3% year over year, indicating continued demand for its outsourced clinical-research services.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains a potential catalyst. BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $187, Mizuho lifted its target to $190, and William Blair upgraded the stock to “strong buy.” The broader analyst consensus is “Hold,” with an average target of $170.40. Analyst coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership is high at 95.61%, and several investment firms recently initiated or increased positions in ICLR. The stock is also trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, reflecting favorable recent momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Barry Balfe, CFO Nigel Clerkin and several directors sold shares totaling roughly $1.6 million at prices near $164.07–$164.29. The filings state that the sales were made to cover tax-withholding obligations connected with vested equity awards, and the insiders retained shares afterward, reducing the negative signal. Icon insider sales article
• Negative Sentiment: Although revenue beat estimates, quarterly EPS fell from $3.26 in the prior-year period, highlighting earnings pressure. ICLR also trades at a relatively demanding valuation, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 39 and a PEG ratio above 6, leaving the stock vulnerable if growth or guidance weakens.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICLR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Icon to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Icon from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $160.00 price target on Icon in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Icon has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.40.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Icon in the second quarter valued at approximately $254,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Icon by 19.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 28,145 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,094,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 97.6% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 71,360 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,379,000 after purchasing an additional 35,253 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Icon during the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Icon by 58.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.