Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $168.00 to $186.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.59% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $160.00 target price on Icon in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Icon from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson set a $164.00 price objective on Icon in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Icon from $120.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.94.

Icon Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $158.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 1.26. Icon has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $127.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.23.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.07. Icon had a net margin of 5.35% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. Icon’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Icon will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in Icon in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. EFG International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Icon in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Icon in the third quarter valued at about $71,000. 95.61% of the stock is currently 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.