IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 990,554 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 1,140,433 shares.The stock last traded at $191.39 and had previously closed at $192.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IQV. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of IQVIA in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded shares of IQVIA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on IQVIA from $280.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on IQVIA from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.50.

IQVIA Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.79. The stock has a market cap of $34.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76.

Insider Activity at IQVIA

In related news, insider Eric Sherbet sold 1,300 shares of IQVIA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.33, for a total value of $320,229.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,536 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,812,302.88. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,403,488 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $719,634,000 after purchasing an additional 211,653 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of IQVIA by 0.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,263,944 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $825,416,000 after buying an additional 30,014 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 3.1% during the second quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,923,032 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $618,046,000 after buying an additional 86,870 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of IQVIA by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,887,342 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $684,213,000 after acquiring an additional 804,963 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of IQVIA by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,138,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $540,882,000 after acquiring an additional 143,533 shares in 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.