Barclays Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for IQVIA (NYSE:IQV)

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Barclays in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $170.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $235.00. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on IQV. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of IQVIA from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of IQVIA from $242.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $273.00 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.50.

IQVIA Stock Performance

NYSE IQV opened at $152.90 on Thursday. IQVIA has a 52-week low of $135.97 and a 52-week high of $252.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.46.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. On average, research analysts predict that IQVIA will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of IQVIA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in IQVIA during the 4th quarter valued at $336,041,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $236,120,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 396.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,134,737 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $222,987,000 after purchasing an additional 905,960 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in IQVIA by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,590,260 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $509,012,000 after buying an additional 902,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of IQVIA by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 4,282,024 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $841,461,000 after acquiring an additional 712,958 shares during the period. 89.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About IQVIA

IQVIA Holdings Inc engages in the provision of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions.