Barry Edward Balfe Sells 382 Shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) CEO Barry Edward Balfe sold 382 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.07, for a total transaction of $62,674.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $788,192.28. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Icon Price Performance

ICLR opened at $167.17 on Thursday. Icon Plc has a 52-week low of $66.57 and a 52-week high of $203.91. The stock has a market cap of $12.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.24, a PEG ratio of 6.86 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.93 and a 200 day moving average of $134.18. 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 earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Icon had a net margin of 3.99% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Icon Plc will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

More Icon News

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Icon’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations: adjusted earnings were $2.56 per share versus a $2.55 consensus, while revenue of $2.06 billion topped estimates of $2.00 billion. Revenue grew 2.3% year over year, supporting the stock despite lower earnings than the prior-year quarter.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts maintain bullish targets above recent trading levels. BMO Capital Markets raised its target to $187 and Mizuho lifted its target to $190, while the broader analyst consensus is a “Hold” with an average target of $170.40. Should You Bring The Luck Of The Irish To Your Investments?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Barry Balfe sold 382 shares worth approximately $62,675, while CFO Nigel Clerkin sold 2,267 shares worth about $372,445. Six directors also sold shares, including Ciaran Murray’s approximately $439,804 transaction. All sales were disclosed as tax-withholding transactions tied to equity award vesting, and the executives and directors retained stock afterward. Icon CEO Sells Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares, indicating no measurable short-selling pressure; however, this also provides limited evidence of potential short-covering support.
• Neutral Sentiment: ICLR trades well above its 200-day moving average and carries a relatively elevated valuation, with a price-to-earnings ratio near 39 and a PEG ratio of 6.88. This suggests investors are already pricing in substantial future growth.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Icon

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Firetrail Investments PTY Ltd. acquired a new position in Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,021,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor purchased a new position in Icon in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,807,000. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Icon by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $266,725,000 after buying an additional 327,314 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Icon by 463.8% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 71,817 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,475,000 after purchasing an additional 59,078 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polianta Ltd acquired a new position in Icon in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,876,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ICLR has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $209.00 price target (up from $207.00) on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler downgraded Icon to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Icon from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased 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, TD Cowen upped their target price on Icon from $164.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $170.40.

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.