IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,200,000 shares, a growth of 29.3% from the May 15th total of 5,570,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Institutional Trading of IQVIA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IQV. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in IQVIA by 244.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of IQVIA by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,376 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth about $210,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 29,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,836,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in IQVIA by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IQV. Mizuho decreased their price objective on IQVIA from $210.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of IQVIA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $188.00 price target on IQVIA in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.32.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of IQV opened at $154.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. IQVIA has a fifty-two week low of $134.65 and a fifty-two week high of $252.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.74.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical research company reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.63 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 29.16% and a net margin of 8.61%. IQVIA’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.