Should I Buy ICLR? ICLR 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy ICON PLC (ICLR) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

150.590

1 Day change

3.58%

52 Week Range

211.000

Analysis Updated At

2026/02/04

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Not a good buy right now for an impatient investor: price action is still trending down (bearish MACD expansion) despite being deeply oversold.
Oversold RSI (6) ~12 increases bounce potential, but the tape hasn’t shown confirmation (momentum still deteriorating).
Options positioning is mixed-to-cautious with very elevated IV (pricing in uncertainty), and earnings (Feb 23) is the next major catalyst.
Net income/EPS collapse in 2025/Q3 plus margin compression weakens the fundamental near-term backdrop; Wall Street is mostly in “wait-and-see” mode (Hold/Market Perform).

Technical Analysis

Trend/Momentum: Bearish. MACD histogram at -2.443 and negatively expanding signals downside momentum is still strengthening.
RSI: Extremely oversold (RSI_6 = 12.321), which often precedes short-term rebounds, but it’s not a trend-reversal by itself.
Moving averages: Converging MAs suggest the stock is in a transition phase, but momentum currently favors bears.
Levels: Price ~163.28 is below S1 (167.571) and sitting near S2 (160.931). A break below ~160.9 would be technically damaging; a reclaim of ~167.6 is the first step toward stabilization.
Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals: No signal on given stock today (AI Stock Picker: none; SwingMax: none), so there’s no proprietary confirmation to treat this as a strong buy setup.

Options Data

Bearish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: Mixed. Open interest P/C at 1.3 suggests heavier put positioning/hedging (cautious), while volume P/C at 0.6 shows more calls trading today (some dip-buying/speculation).
Volatility: Elevated. 30D IV ~64.55 vs historical vol ~43.48 implies options are pricing substantial uncertainty; IV percentile ~90.44 indicates IV is very high vs its own history.
Activity: Today’s volume (187) is below the 5D avg (439) but above the 10D avg (274.1); open interest (3441) is substantial, indicating active positioning into the next catalyst window (earnings).

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

- Technical mean-reversion potential: RSI is extremely oversold, increasing the odds of a short-term bounce if selling pressure fades.
- Upcoming catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-23 (after hours) could act as a “reset/clearing event” for guidance expectations.
- Analyst price targets sit above spot (PTs: $175 and $183), implying moderate upside if fundamentals stabilize.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

- Downtrend not finished: Bearish and expanding MACD histogram signals continuing negative momentum.
- Fundamental pressure: 2025/Q3 showed severe profitability deterioration (net income/EPS collapse) and gross margin decline.
- Sector/company narrative risk: Analysts note cancellations likely to remain elevated for the next few quarters.
- No supportive news flow recently to change sentiment; the next major information event is earnings (binary risk).

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q3.
Revenue: $2.043B, +0.63% YoY (low growth / essentially flat).
Profitability: Net income $2.36M, -98.81% YoY; EPS $0.03, -98.73% YoY (sharp earnings compression).
Margins: Gross margin 22.32%, -9.08% YoY (margin pressure consistent with a tougher operating environment).

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent tone: Cautious/neutral overall.
2026-01-22 (TD Cowen): Hold; PT raised to $183 from $172 (incrementally more constructive on valuation, but still not bullish-rated).
2025-11-12 (BMO Capital): Market Perform; PT $175; expects cancellations to stay elevated near-term but suggests the worst may be behind the company.
Wall Street pros: Potential clearing event via 2026 outlook/earnings cycle; price targets above current price.
Wall Street cons: Near-term cancellations and operating/margin pressure keep ratings at Hold/Market Perform rather than Buy.

13 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast ICLR stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ICLR is 202.67 USD with a low forecast of 172 USD and a high forecast of 222 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

6 Buy

7 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 145.390

Low

172

Averages

202.67

High

222

Current: 145.390

Low

172

Averages

202.67

High

222

TD Cowen

Hold

maintain

$172 -> $183

AI Analysis

2026-01-22

Reason

TD Cowen

Price Target

$172 -> $183

AI Analysis

2026-01-22

maintain

Hold

Reason

TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Icon to $183 from $172 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm adjusted targets in the contract research organization space as part of a Q4 preview. TD generally expects solid Q4 prints and sees potential for 2026 outlooks to "represent a clearing event for operating conditions."

BMO Capital

Sean Dodge

Market Perform

initiated

$175

2025-11-12

Reason

BMO Capital

Sean Dodge

Price Target

$175

2025-11-12

initiated

Market Perform

Reason

BMO Capital analyst Sean Dodge initiated coverage of Icon with a Market Perform rating and $175 price target. The firm's analysis suggests the company's cancellations are likely remain elevated for the next few quarters. However, it also indicates the worst is probably now behind Icon, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

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ICLR Should I Buy

ICLR Should I Buy

Should You Buy ICON PLC (ICLR) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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