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

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 3,510,000 shares, a growth of 25.4% from the February 13th total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

IQVIA Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE IQV opened at $188.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.52. IQVIA has a one year low of $179.28 and a one year high of $256.34.

IQVIA (NYSE:IQV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The medical research company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by ($0.21). IQVIA had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 28.81%. Equities analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $273.00 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of IQVIA in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of IQVIA from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 target price (up previously from $261.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQV. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of IQVIA by 612.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 228 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of IQVIA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.