Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Earnings Beat

Shares of Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 182,992 shares changed 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $511.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $512.39 million. Medpace had a return on equity of 63.98% and a net margin of 15.00%. Medpace’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.27 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MEDP has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Medpace from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $282.00 to $452.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Medpace from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Medpace in a report on Monday, March 18th. They set a “hold” rating and a $395.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Medpace from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $340.00 to $450.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Medpace from $312.00 to $408.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.60.

Insider Transactions at Medpace

In other news, major shareholder Medpace Investors, Llc sold 50,000 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.75, for a total transaction of $19,587,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,539,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,170,274,237.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Medpace Investors, Llc sold 50,000 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.75, for a total value of $19,587,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,539,947 shares in the company, valued at $2,170,274,237.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Susan E. Burwig sold 102 shares of Medpace stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.00, for a total value of $41,106.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,117,943. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 189,340 shares of company stock valued at $76,651,647. 20.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medpace

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MEDP. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medpace in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Medpace in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medpace in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Medpace in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medpace in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 77.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medpace Stock Up 8.2 %

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $397.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $323.14. The company has a market capitalization of $12.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.38.

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.