Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) Stock: Insider Emer Lyons Sells 264 Shares

Icon Plc (NASDAQ:ICLR) CAO Emer Lyons sold 264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.66, for a total value of $54,558.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,505.22. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Emer Lyons also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, October 23rd, Emer Lyons sold 272 shares of Icon stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.37, for a total value of $49,604.64.

Icon Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of ICLR stock opened at $203.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.19. Icon Plc has a fifty-two week low of $66.57 and a fifty-two week high of $219.04.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.04. Icon had a return on equity of 7.73% and a net margin of 5.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Icon Plc will post 9.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Icon

Here are the key news stories impacting Icon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: ICON’s consensus price target was reported to have risen 23.33% to $239.19, indicating improved analyst expectations. Article: ICON public limited consensus price target increased by 23.33% to $239.19
• Positive Sentiment: A report highlights ICON’s use of AI to accelerate clinical trials. If it improves trial speed or efficiency, this could support the company’s value proposition to drug developers, though the article does not quantify the financial impact. Article: ICON PLC (ICLR) Is Leveraging AI to Accelerate Clinical Trials
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Barry Balfe, CFO Bernard Clerkin, and CAO Emer Lyons reported share sales on November 2. The filings say these sales covered tax withholding on vested equity awards, making them less clear-cut as a bearish signal. Article: Insider Selling: ICON CAO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Director Ciaran Murray sold 3,452 shares, about 16.9% of his reported holdings. The report did not provide a reason for the sale, which may add to investor concern about insider selling. SEC filing for director share sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on ICLR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Icon from $185.00 to $226.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Icon in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Icon from $210.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Icon from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Icon from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $213.76.

Institutional Trading of Icon

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICLR. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Icon by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 52,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,441,000 after purchasing an additional 10,389 shares during the period. Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Icon by 0.9% in the third quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 25,591 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,350,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Icon by 13.5% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,259 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $894,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of Icon by 0.4% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 20,762 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Icon in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 95.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Icon

ICON plc is a global contract research organization that provides outsourced development services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. The company supports clinical research programs from early development through late-stage trials, regulatory submission and post-marketing activities.

Its services include clinical trial management, medical and regulatory consulting, biostatistics, data management, pharmacovigilance, laboratory services and real-world evidence solutions.