Should You Hold ICON PLC (ICLR)?

Wasatch Global Investors, an asset management company, released its “Wasatch U.S. Select Strategy” first-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities declined in the first quarter due to potential tariffs and government funding cuts. Against this backdrop, the strategy was down but exceeded the Russell Midcap® Growth Index, which lost -7.12%. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Wasatch U.S. Select Strategy highlighted stocks such as ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR). Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) is a clinical research organization. The one-month return of ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) was 11.32%, and its shares lost 53.42% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 25, 2025, ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) stock closed at $145.91 per share, with a market capitalization of $11.597 billion.

Wasatch U.S. Select Strategy stated the following regarding ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:

“ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) also detracted. The Irish health-care company provides contracted clinical-research services to global biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. Concerns about the funding environment for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies likely weighed on ICON’s stock price this quarter, but we continue to like the business. ICON’s valuation is near historical lows, and we like the stock’s risk-reward potential from here. Further, accelerated stock buybacks signal more confidence from management that growth could be poised to accelerate.”

ICON Public Limited Company (ICLR): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds is Buying

A laboratory setting with a team of scientists working on a clinical trial.

ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) at the end of the first quarter, which was 46 in the previous quarter. ICON Public Limited Company’s (NASDAQ:ICLR) first quarter revenue declined 4.3% year-over-year to $2 billion. While we acknowledge the potential of ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the undervalued AI stock set for massive gains.

In another article, we covered ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) and shared small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. While we acknowledge the potential of ICLR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.