ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) Short Interest Down 16.2% in April

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the March 31st total of 2,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

ICON Public Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ICLR opened at $142.96 on Friday. ICON Public has a 12-month low of $133.28 and a 12-month high of $347.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $195.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.24.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The medical research company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.17 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. ICON Public had a return on equity of 11.81% and a net margin of 9.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.47 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ICON Public will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ICON Public

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICLR. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in ICON Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of ICON Public by 281.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 225 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of ICON Public by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 250 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in ICON Public in the first quarter worth $59,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in ICON Public by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 433 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $263.00 price target on shares of ICON Public in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Mizuho decreased their price target on ICON Public from $238.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. TD Cowen lowered ICON Public from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $254.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of ICON Public from $180.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of ICON Public from $290.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ICON Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.33.

ICON Public Company Profile

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.