IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV) Short Interest Up 25.4% in February

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of IQVIA by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,861 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after buying an additional 4,483 shares during the period. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,478,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of IQVIA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in IQVIA by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 5,844 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in IQVIA by 973.2% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 21,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,195,000 after purchasing an additional 19,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on IQV shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of IQVIA from $255.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Leerink Partners restated an “outperform” rating and set a $248.00 target price (down from $260.00) on shares of IQVIA in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of IQVIA from $212.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of IQVIA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, IQVIA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.05.

IQVIA Price Performance

Shares of IQV stock traded up $3.55 on Tuesday, reaching $188.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,344,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,685. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. IQVIA has a one year low of $179.28 and a one year high of $256.34. The business’s 50-day moving average is $196.34 and its 200 day moving average is $209.96.

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 return on equity of 28.81% and a net margin of 8.91%. Equities research analysts forecast that IQVIA will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.