Short Interest in IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Grows By 8.6%

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,900,000 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the July 15th total of 2,670,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,250,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

IQVIA Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of IQV stock traded up $3.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $243.11. 797,581 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,073,916. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. IQVIA has a 1 year low of $167.42 and a 1 year high of $261.73. The stock has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $224.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.13.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. IQVIA had a return on equity of 28.59% and a net margin of 9.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Research analysts predict that IQVIA will post 10.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IQVIA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of IQVIA by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 118,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,445,000 after buying an additional 17,677 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 140,914 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,636,000 after acquiring an additional 9,578 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of IQVIA by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,418,392 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $532,070,000 after acquiring an additional 93,194 shares during the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth about $70,108,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in IQVIA during the fourth quarter worth about $857,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of IQVIA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on IQVIA in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on IQVIA from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $266.00 to $242.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, IQVIA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.67.

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.