Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Reasons to Retain IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Stock in Your Portfolio

Read MoreHide Full Article

IQVIA Holdings Inc.’s (IQV - Free Report) shares have risen 19.1% in the past three months, outperforming the 16.8% rise of the industry it belongs to.

The company has an expected long-term earnings per share(three to five years) growth rate of 11.6%. Further, earnings are anticipated to register growth of 10.4% and 12.9% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Factors That Auger Well

IQVIA’s enormous treasure trove of information is a distinguishing asset and perhaps a big barrier to entry for competitors. The company has a huge collection of healthcare information that encompasses more than 1.2 billion comprehensive, longitudinal, non-identified patient records across sales, prescription and promotional data, electronic medical records, medical claims, genomics and social media.

IQVIA’s addressable market, with a size of more than $210 billion, consists of outsourced research and development, real-world evidence and connected health, and technology-enabled clinical and commercial operation markets. The company aims to expand into these markets by innovating and improving its offerings using its information, advanced analytics, transformative technology and significant domain expertise.

IQVIA has a consistent record of share repurchases. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, IQV had repurchased shares worth $406 million, $447 million and $949 million, respectively. Such moves not only instill investors’ confidence but also positively impact the EPS.

Some Risks

IQVIA’s current ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2022 was pegged at 0.96, lower than the current ratio of 1.05 reported at the end of the prior-year quarter. A decreasing current ratio is not desirable as it indicates that the company may have problems meeting its short-term obligations.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

IQVIA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A couple of better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR - Free Report) and Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP - Free Report) .

Avis Budget sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. CAR has a full-year earnings expectation of 108.4%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Avis Budget delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 69.5%, on average. 

Automatic Data Processing has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. ADP has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 12%.

Automatic Data Processing delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5%, on average.

Published in