Jefferies Financial Group Lowers IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) to Hold

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) was downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They presently have a $242.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $266.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 4.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on IQVIA from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on IQVIA from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of IQVIA from $235.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.56.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of IQV opened at $232.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.30. IQVIA has a 52-week low of $167.42 and a 52-week high of $261.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.49.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.07. IQVIA had a net margin of 9.39% and a return on equity of 28.59%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that IQVIA will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IQV. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of IQVIA by 327.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 124 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in IQVIA in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in IQVIA by 733.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 125 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in IQVIA during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in IQVIA during the second quarter worth $27,000. 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.