Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $133.46 and traded as high as $174.44. Icon shares last traded at $173.48, with a volume of 420,655 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ICLR. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $209.00 price objective (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Icon from $160.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Icon from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.40.

Icon Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a PEG ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.50. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical research company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.26 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Icon

In related news, Director Ronan Martin Murphy sold 841 shares of Icon stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,023.63. The trade was a 17.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Anne Clem Whitaker sold 841 shares of Icon stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total value of $138,167.89. Following the sale, the director directly owned 891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $146,382.39. This trade represents a 48.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,531 shares of company stock worth $1,565,764. 44.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Icon during the fourth quarter valued at $123,542,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Icon by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 147,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $26,917,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares in the last quarter. Polianta Ltd acquired a new stake in Icon in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,728 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $17,011,000 after buying an additional 62,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Icon by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $266,725,000 after purchasing an additional 327,314 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.