Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Shares Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) fell 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $317.50 and last traded at $317.50. 24,435 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 276,737 shares. The stock had previously closed at $334.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MEDP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded Medpace from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Medpace from $395.00 to $336.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Medpace in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $404.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Medpace from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Medpace from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $413.00 to $349.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $380.00.

Medpace Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $341.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.24. Medpace had a return on equity of 50.87% and a net margin of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $533.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $540.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Medpace

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medpace by 162.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after acquiring an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new position in Medpace during the first quarter worth about $727,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Medpace in the first quarter valued at about $1,239,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Medpace by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 14,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 9,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Medpace during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,306,000. 77.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Medpace

Medpace Holdings, Inc provides clinical research-based drug and medical device development services in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a suite of services supporting the clinical development process from Phase I to Phase IV in various therapeutic areas. It provides clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries; and development plan design, coordinated central laboratory, project management, regulatory affairs, clinical monitoring, data management and analysis, pharmacovigilance new drug application submissions, and post-marketing clinical support services.