IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,890,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 3,200,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 997,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

IQVIA Stock Performance

Shares of IQVIA stock traded down $2.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $229.14. 920,953 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 734,106. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. IQVIA has a 1 year low of $167.42 and a 1 year high of $261.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.33.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.02. IQVIA had a return on equity of 29.32% and a net margin of 9.06%. The company had revenue of $3.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.54 earnings per share. IQVIA’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on IQV. Truist Financial upped their target price on IQVIA from $286.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on IQVIA in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $285.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised IQVIA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Guggenheim cut IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at IQVIA

In other IQVIA news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,836 shares in the company, valued at $5,031,894. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ari Bousbib sold 31,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.53, for a total transaction of $7,936,289.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 796,752 shares in the company, valued at $199,610,278.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.50, for a total value of $241,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,894. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,285 shares of company stock worth $10,331,003. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in IQVIA by 327.6% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 124 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in IQVIA in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of IQVIA in the first quarter worth about $32,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of IQVIA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of IQVIA in the second quarter worth about $33,000. 89.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.