Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in IQVIA Holdings Inc. $IQV

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 84,013 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,233,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new stake in IQVIA in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,918,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in IQVIA during the second quarter valued at about $2,811,292,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in IQVIA by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,948 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 3,161 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA in the second quarter worth about $143,074,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of IQVIA in the second quarter valued at approximately $976,000. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IQVIA Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:IQV opened at $261.57 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $218.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.59. The company has a market cap of $43.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. IQVIA Holdings Inc. has a one year low of $154.50 and a one year high of $262.51.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The medical research company reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.03 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 30.25% and a net margin of 8.10%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.81 earnings per share. IQVIA has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.800-13.000 EPS. Analysts anticipate that IQVIA Holdings Inc. will post 11.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IQVIA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to buy up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of IQVIA from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on IQVIA from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price objective on IQVIA in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, IQVIA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $241.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other IQVIA news, insider Keriann Cherofsky sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.21, for a total value of $136,827.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,932.69. This trade represents a 15.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider W Richard Staub sold 5,500 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.68, for a total value of $1,279,740.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,097,436.16. This trade represents a 29.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,913 shares of company stock worth $3,098,793. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About IQVIA

IQVIA (NYSE: IQV) is a global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and contract research services to the life sciences industry. The company combines clinical research capabilities with large-scale health data and analytics to support drug development, regulatory reporting, commercial strategy and real?world evidence generation. IQVIA traces its current form to the combination of Quintiles and IMS Health announced in 2016 and subsequently rebranded as IQVIA, bringing together long-established clinical research operations and extensive healthcare information assets.

IQVIA’s principal activities include outsourced clinical development services (acting as a contract research organization for phases I–IV), real?world evidence and observational research, regulatory and safety services, and a suite of technology platforms that enable data integration, analytics and operational management.