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Here's Why Investors Should Retain IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Stock

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IQVIA Holdings Inc.’s (IQV - Free Report) growth is mainly driven by a strong global IT infrastructure and a huge market. The company’s extensive database is a major entry barrier for new players.

IQV’s shares have gained 14.6% in the past six months compared with its industry’s 7% growth in the same time frame.

IQVIA Holdings Inc. Price

IQVIA Holdings Inc. Price

IQVIA Holdings Inc. price | IQVIA Holdings Inc. Quote

The company has an impressive earning surprise history. It beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all four trailing quarters, with average surprise being 2.15%.

Driving Factors

IQVIA has been banking on its collection of data as well as its ability to standardize, organize and integrate data. It uses IT infrastructure and sophisticated analytics to build a strong client base through the data service. In 2022, the company added 275 more customers.

The company has been consistently rewarding its shareholders through share repurchases. In 2022, IQVIA returned $1.2 billion in the form of share repurchases. In 2021 and 2020, the company made share repurchases of $406 million and $447 million, respectively. These moves reaffirm shareholders’ confidence.

IQVIA has an addressable market of $300 billion. The company aims to penetrate these markets by improving its data offerings using advanced analytics, transformative technology, global IT infrastructure and domain expertise. The company currently serves a diversified client base of 10,000 spread across 100 countries.

The company recently agreed to make Salesforce (CRM - Free Report) -based products available on Alibaba’s (BABA - Free Report) cloud. The company’s partnership with Alibaba Cloud and Salesforce will enable the company to extend its Orchestrated Customer Engagement suite of products to enhance its offering in China. The new collaboration between Alibaba Cloud, IQVIA and Salesforce will authorize clients with a path to begin using or extending their investments on the best-in-class platform for engaging with their customers.

Some Risks

IQVIA’s current ratio at the end of fourth-quarter 2022 was 0.89, lower than the current ratio of 0.91 reported at the end of the prior-year quarter. Declining current ratio indicates that the company may have problems meeting its short-term obligations.

With 51% of its total revenues generated in countries outside the United States, the company is susceptible to foreign currency fluctuation risks.

Zacks Rank and Stock to Consider

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

Investors interested in the Zacks Business Services sector can consider Gartner, Inc.(IT - Free Report) .

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IT’s first-quarter 2023 earnings is pegged at $2.04, which has been revised 3% upward in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for the full year is $9.49 per share, which has been revised slightly upward in the past 60 days. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

 

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