In a report released today, Eric Coldwell from Robert W. Baird upgraded Icon to a Buy, with a price target of $224.00.
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Eric Coldwell has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that indicate potential for recovery and growth in Icon’s performance. Despite a challenging quarter, Icon’s revenue and earnings per share slightly exceeded expectations, demonstrating resilience in a tough market environment. The company’s backlog has shown a modest increase, suggesting stabilizing conditions and potential for future growth.
Additionally, Icon’s gross awards, although down year-over-year, have improved quarter-over-quarter, indicating a positive trend in business development. The valuation remains attractive, with the stock trading at less than 15 times price-to-earnings ratio, which Coldwell sees as an opportunity given the potential for recovery in the contract research organization sector. These factors contribute to Coldwell’s confidence in a moderate recovery and support his Buy rating for Icon.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 19 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of ICLR in relation to earlier this year.