Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Given Underperform Rating at Bank of America

Bank of America reissued their underperform rating on shares of Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $75.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Icon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. UBS Group set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Icon in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Icon in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $175.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Icon currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $179.93.

Icon Price Performance

ICLR opened at $80.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $177.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.61. Icon has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $211.00. The firm has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Icon by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,184,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,045,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893,946 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Icon by 739.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,277,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $573,526,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886,755 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P purchased a new position in Icon in the 2nd quarter worth about $238,256,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Icon by 555.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,496,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $272,688,000 after buying an additional 1,268,095 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Icon during the second quarter valued at about $158,639,000. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Icon

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Leerink Partners reaffirmed a “market perform” rating with a $105 price target, which is materially above the current price and provides some analyst support for a recovery. Leerink Partners note
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest notices in the data feed show anomalous “0 shares / NaN” values for February filings; the reported days-to-cover is 0.0, but the figures appear unreliable and shouldn’t be interpreted as a clear short squeeze signal.
• Negative Sentiment: ICON disclosed an Audit Committee–led internal investigation into accounting practices covering fiscal 2023–2025, and delayed release of Q4 & full-year 2025 results — the core driver of today’s selloff. ICON plc Provides Update on Timing of Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Results and Investigation into Accounting Practices
• Negative Sentiment: Media and legal alerts report that multiple plaintiff firms (Hagens Berman, Rosen Law, Holzer & Holzer, Ademi LLP, Block & Leviton, Johnson Fistel and others) have launched or encouraged inquiries into potential securities claims — increasing the risk of litigation, fees and management distraction. Hagens Berman report
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage and market commentary note that ICON pulled its 2025 outlook amid the probe — raising near-term earnings uncertainty and raising the odds of downward revisions by analysts. Seeking Alpha: ICON pulls 2025 outlook amid ongoing probe
• Negative Sentiment: Price-action coverage highlights a large intraday selloff and heavy volume after the disclosure; investor sentiment and liquidity concerns are likely to persist until the investigation concludes and audited results are released. Investing.com: ICON stock plummets

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.