Medpace (MEDP) Competitors

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) and Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Is MEDP or ICLR more profitable?

Medpace has a net margin of 18.74% compared to Icon's net margin of 9.82%. Medpace's return on equity of 67.66% beat Icon's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medpace	18.74%	67.66%	21.86%
Icon	9.82%	10.95%	6.23%

Which has more volatility and risk, MEDP or ICLR?

Medpace has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon has a beta of 1.17, indicating that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate MEDP or ICLR?

Medpace presently has a consensus price target of $406.60, indicating a potential downside of 11.19%. Icon has a consensus price target of $219.54, indicating a potential upside of 24.85%. Given Icon's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Icon is more favorable than Medpace.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medpace	3 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.93
Icon	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.81

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MEDP or ICLR?

78.0% of Medpace shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Icon shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.3% of Medpace shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 44.0% of Icon shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, MEDP or ICLR?

Icon has higher revenue and earnings than Medpace. Icon is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Medpace, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medpace	$2.23B	5.76	$404.39M	$13.45	34.04
Icon	$8.28B	1.71	$791.47M	$9.72	18.09

Does the media prefer MEDP or ICLR?

In the previous week, Medpace had 2 more articles in the media than Icon. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Medpace and 8 mentions for Icon. Medpace's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Icon's score of 0.49 indicating that Medpace is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Medpace	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Icon	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

Medpace beats Icon on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.