Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Sells $709,938.32 in Stock

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) Director Ciaran Murray sold 3,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.66, for a total transaction of $709,938.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,496,220. This trade represents a 16.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ciaran Murray also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 11th, Ciaran Murray sold 2,677 shares of Icon stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.29, for a total transaction of $439,804.33.

Icon Price Performance

Shares of Icon stock opened at $203.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.19. Icon Plc has a twelve month low of $66.57 and a twelve month high of $219.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.72.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.04. Icon had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 7.73%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Icon Plc will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Icon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Icon by 10.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,311,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $366,481,000 after acquiring an additional 310,236 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Icon by 27.1% during the second quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 1,535,462 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $266,725,000 after acquiring an additional 327,314 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 257.8% in the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,199,600 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $208,383,000 after acquiring an additional 864,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 50.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 788,828 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,262,000 after acquiring an additional 265,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of Icon in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,379,000. 95.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Icon

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: A reported consensus price target rose 23.33% to $239.19, suggesting improved analyst expectations and potential upside relative to the stock’s recent trading level. Article: ICON consensus price target increased
• Positive Sentiment: A recent article highlights ICON’s use of AI to accelerate clinical trials. If these tools improve trial speed or efficiency, they could support the company’s value proposition to drug developers, though the report provides no specific financial impact. Article: ICON is leveraging AI to accelerate clinical trials
• Neutral Sentiment: The CEO, CFO and chief accounting officer each sold shares on November 2. The reported sales were to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, which makes them a weaker signal of insider concern than ordinary discretionary selling. Article: ICON chief accounting officer stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Director Ciaran Murray sold 3,452 shares for about $710,000, reducing his reported holdings by 16.88%. The filing did not provide a tax-withholding explanation, so the sale may add to investor concern about insider selling. SEC insider transaction filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICLR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $254.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on Icon from $175.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays raised their price target on Icon from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Icon from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Icon from $195.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Icon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.76.

Icon Company Profile

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

Its services include clinical trial management, medical and regulatory consulting, biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services and real-world evidence solutions.