Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Sees Strong Trading Volume on Strong Earnings

Shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 182,992 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the previous session’s volume of 239,993 shares.The stock last traded at $365.34 and had previously closed at $376.26.

The company reported $3.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.75. Medpace had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 65.98%. The firm had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $512.39 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.27 EPS. Medpace’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MEDP. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Medpace from $453.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Medpace from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Medpace in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $395.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Medpace from $446.00 to $454.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised Medpace from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $282.00 to $452.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $443.00.

Insider Activity

In other Medpace news, VP Susan E. Burwig sold 102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.00, for a total value of $41,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 15,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,117,943. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Susan E. Burwig sold 102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.00, for a total transaction of $41,106.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 15,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,117,943. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Medpace Investors, Llc sold 13,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.39, for a total transaction of $5,404,823.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,525,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,135,175,298.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 189,340 shares of company stock worth $76,651,647 over the last 90 days. 20.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Medpace

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medpace during the first quarter worth $27,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Medpace in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Medpace in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medpace during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its stake in Medpace by 40.3% during the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 101 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 77.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medpace Stock Down 2.4 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $397.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $323.66. The company has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.38.

Medpace Company Profile

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.