IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Short Interest Up 25.4% in February

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, a growth of 25.4% from the February 13th total of 2,800,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in IQVIA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,616,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of IQVIA by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,405,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $277,908,000 after acquiring an additional 452,029 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 4th quarter valued at $941,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graphene Investments SAS lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. Graphene Investments SAS now owns 15,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on IQV shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 10th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays decreased their price objective on IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.05.

IQVIA Trading Down 0.3 %

IQV stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $184.64. 1,368,352 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,859. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $196.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.96. IQVIA has a 52-week low of $179.28 and a 52-week high of $256.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

IQVIA Company Profile

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.