ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $290.00 to $215.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. ICON Public traded as low as $150.91 and last traded at $153.62, with a volume of 819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.72.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on ICLR. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded ICON Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $250.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of ICON Public from $275.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ICON Public from $280.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of ICON Public in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of ICON Public in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in ICON Public by 15,701.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 68,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $119,730,000 after acquiring an additional 67,988 shares in the last quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc boosted its position in shares of ICON Public by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc now owns 51,713 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,845,000 after purchasing an additional 11,089 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in ICON Public by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 35,301 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,403,000 after buying an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its position in ICON Public by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 158,947 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,333,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ICON Public by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 64,038 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,466 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ICON Public Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $183.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $3.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.01. ICON Public had a net margin of 9.56% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that ICON Public Limited will post 13.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ICON Public Company Profile

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.