Brokerages Set IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Price Target at $257.57

Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.57.

Several research firms have weighed in on IQV. StockNews.com raised IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQV opened at $229.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. IQVIA has a 12 month low of $167.42 and a 12 month high of $261.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.52.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical research company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.69 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 29.17% and a net margin of 9.01%. Research analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total transaction of $2,153,213.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other IQVIA news, insider Kevin C. Knightly sold 8,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.17, for a total value of $2,153,213.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,642.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $7,936,289.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $199,610,278.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IQVIA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IQV. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in IQVIA by 327.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 124 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in IQVIA in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 89.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About IQVIA

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.