IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Stock Up 18.8% in a Year: Here's Why

CLH CCRN NVEE IQV

Shares of IQVIA Holdings Inc.(IQV - Free Report) have charted a solid trajectory, appreciating 18.8% over the past year, surpassing the 59.4% decline of the industry it belongs to and 15.1% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Let’s delve into the factors that have contributed to the company’s outperformance.

Consecutive Earnings & Revenue Beat

IQVIA Holdings came up with better-than-expected earnings and revenue performance in all four quarters of 2021. The company’s bottom line continued to benefit from improvements in operational efficiency and a decline in interest expenses. Strength across all the segments, namely, Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions, boosted the top line.

Robust Set of Capabilities

IQVIA Holdings has a strong healthcare-specific global IT infrastructure, analytics-driven clinical development capabilities, a robust real-world solutions ecosystem, and a growing set of proprietary clinical as well as commercial applications that allow it to grow and retain relationships with healthcare stakeholders. The company’s combined offerings of research and development, and commercial services have been helping it develop trusted relationships, resulting in a diversified base of more than 10,000 clients in over 100 countries.

Shareholder-Friendly Moves

IQVIA has a consistent record of share repurchase. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, the company had repurchased shares worth $406 million, $447 million and $949 million, respectively. Such moves instill investors’ confidence by positively impacting earnings per share.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

IQVIA Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some other better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services sector that investors may consider are Cross Country Healthcare (CCRN - Free Report) , NV5 Global (NVEE - Free Report) and Clean Harbors (CLH - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1.

Cross Country Healthcare has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41.5%, on average.

Cross Country Healthcare’s shares have surged 76% in the past year. The company has a long-term earnings growth of 6.5%.

NV5 Global has an expected earnings growth rate of 6.1% for the current year. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 22.2%, on average.

NV5 Global’s shares have surged 40.1% in the past year. The company has a long-term earnings growth of 14.2%.

Clean Harbors has an expected earnings growth rate of 17% for the current year. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 43.2%, on average.

Clean Harbors’ shares have surged 27.5% in the past year.

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