ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $280.76, but opened at $240.61. ICON Public shares last traded at $228.33, with a volume of 1,694,517 shares traded.

The medical research company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.72 by ($0.37). ICON Public had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ICLR shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on ICON Public in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on ICON Public from $360.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on ICON Public in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $379.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on ICON Public from $383.00 to $363.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut ICON Public from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.09.

Institutional Trading of ICON Public

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in ICON Public by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in ICON Public by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in ICON Public by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,020 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial bought a new stake in ICON Public in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,143,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in ICON Public by 39.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. 95.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ICON Public Trading Down 16.8 %

The company has a market cap of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $301.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.59.

About ICON Public

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies.