ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $263.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock.

ICLR has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on ICON Public from $369.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of ICON Public from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of ICON Public from $370.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of ICON Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of ICON Public from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ICON Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.00.

ICON Public Price Performance

Shares of ICLR opened at $219.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. ICON Public has a 52-week low of $183.38 and a 52-week high of $347.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $211.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by ($0.37). ICON Public had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ICON Public will post 13.42 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of ICON Public

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ICLR. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of ICON Public by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in ICON Public by 23.1% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in ICON Public by 39.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of ICON Public by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 597 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $172,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of ICON Public by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 433 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ICON Public

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.