Short Interest in ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR) Rises By 14.3%

ICON Public Limited (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,520,000 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the November 30th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

ICON Public Price Performance

Shares of ICON Public stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $209.71. 399,263 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 755,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.21. The firm's 50 day moving average is $213.84 and its 200-day moving average is $277.13. ICON Public has a one year low of $183.38 and a one year high of $347.72.

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The medical research company reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.72 by ($0.37). ICON Public had a return on equity of 11.91% and a net margin of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that ICON Public will post 13.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in ICON Public by 5.0% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,293 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ICON Public by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 511 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in ICON Public by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 394 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in ICON Public by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 597 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in ICON Public in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors own 95.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ICLR. Barclays dropped their price target on ICON Public from $330.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on ICON Public from $249.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on ICON Public in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $311.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded ICON Public from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Baird R W cut ICON Public from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $289.10.

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.