12:30 AM EDT, 04/25/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We lift our 12-month price target to $297 from $275, 17.8x our 2025 EPS view, a discount to ICLR's historical forward P/E average. We raise our 2024 EPS estimate to $14.70 from $14.51, which stands at the lower end of the raised guidance range of $14.65-$15.15. We raise our 2025 view to $16.66 from $16.13. ICLR reported Q1 EPS of $3.47 vs. $2.90, which came almost in line with expectations, $0.01 above our forecast and $0.06 above the consensus estimate. Q1 revenue of $2.1B, up 5.7% Y/Y, was $7M below our estimate and $2M above consensus. We now see sales rising by 6.5% Y/Y in 2024 as we expect ICLR to benefit from the anticipated gradual improvement in the business environment throughout the year. In a surprise move, ICLR announced in early March that its long-tenured CFO Brendan Brennan, who held the position since 2012, will be leaving in Q4 to pursue a new role. While no successor has been announced so far, how quickly the company manages the CFO transition will be important, in our view.