Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets to Outperform Rating

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $130.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $100.00.

ICLR has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research cut Icon from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Icon from $200.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $119.00 price target on shares of Icon in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Icon from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $183.00 to $120.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.80.

Icon Stock Performance

Icon stock opened at $103.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $127.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.72. Icon has a 52 week low of $66.57 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Icon by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 84,370 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,272,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Icon by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 531,395 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $77,292,000 after acquiring an additional 53,458 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 177,154 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,767,000 after acquiring an additional 18,198 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Icon by 324.3% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Icon during the 2nd quarter worth $158,639,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

About Icon

Icon plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) is a global provider of outsourced drug development and clinical research services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company partners with clients at all stages of the product life cycle, offering expertise in protocol design, trial execution and regulatory compliance across a broad range of therapeutic areas.

Icon’s service portfolio encompasses clinical trial management, data management and biostatistics, medical imaging, pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring, laboratory sciences and specialized analytical solutions.