IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $248.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup cut their price objective on IQVIA from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $261.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on IQVIA from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.05.

IQVIA Price Performance

IQV stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,649,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,304. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $198.52 and a 200 day moving average of $213.86. IQVIA has a fifty-two week low of $179.81 and a fifty-two week high of $261.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12.

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

Institutional Trading of IQVIA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth $1,616,000. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 67.8% in the third quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,637 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,894 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,405,281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $277,908,000 after acquiring an additional 452,029 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at about $941,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in IQVIA by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,179 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

IQVIA Company Profile

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.