Short Interest in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Grows By 25.4%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, an increase of 25.4% from the February 13th total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $212.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up previously from $261.00) on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five equities 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 data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.05.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IQV. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in IQVIA by 612.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 228 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 3rd quarter worth $230,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of IQVIA by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 809 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $192,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of IQVIA by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of IQVIA by 26.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 245,136 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,090,000 after buying an additional 51,970 shares in the last quarter. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IQV opened at $188.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $196.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. IQVIA has a 1 year low of $179.28 and a 1 year high of $256.34.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. Equities analysts anticipate that IQVIA will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.