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Here's Why You Should Retain IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Stock For Now

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IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV - Free Report) has had a decent run on the bourse over the past year. The company’s shares have gained 16.8% against 29.5% decline of the industry it belongs to.

IQVIA has an impressive Growth Score of B. This style score condenses all the essential metrics from a company’s financial statements to get a true sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.

The company has an expected long-term earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate of 12%. Further, earnings are anticipated to register growth of 12.4% and 15% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Factors That Auger Well

IQVIA has a growing client base, thanks to its ability to standardize, organize and integrate its enormous treasure trove of data by applying its sophisticated analytics and global technology infrastructure. The company’s expansive collection of comprehensive, longitudinal and non-identified patient records across sales, prescription and promotional data, electronic medical records, medical claims, genomics and social media is a distinguishing asset and perhaps a significant barrier to entry for competitors.

IQVIA’s addressable market, whose size is around $260 billion, consists of outsourced research and development, real-world evidence and connected health, and technology-enabled clinical and commercial operations markets. The company aims to expand and penetrate into these markets through innovating and improving its offerings using its information, advanced analytics, transformative technology and significant domain expertise.

Some Risks

IQVIA has more outstanding long-term debt than cash. Cash and cash equivalent balance at the end of fourth-quarter 2021 was $1.4 billion compared to the long-term debt level of $12 billion.

Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

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

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS - Free Report) and Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN - Free Report) .

Cross Country Healthcare has an expected long-term earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate of 6.6%. CCRN has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 41.5%, on average.

Cross Country Healthcare’s shares have surged 76% in the past year. CCRN sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

FactSet has an expected earnings growth rate of around 15.1% for the current year. FDS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.1%, on average.

FactSet shares have surged 36.9% in the past year. FDS has a long-term earnings growth of 10%. FDS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).


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FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS) - free report >>

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN) - free report >>

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) - free report >>

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