What happened

According to an SEC filing dated July 2, 2025, LVM Capital Management reduced its position in ICON Public Limited (ICLR 0.90%) by selling 16,096 shares. The transaction was valued at $2.58 million. After the trade, the fund holds 40,603 shares, with a reported market value of $5.91 million as of the June 2025 filing period.

What else do you need to know?

This sell action lowers ICON Public Limited to 0.61% of LVM’s AUM, according to the 13F filing.

Top five ICON Public holdings after the filing:

1. Microsoft (MSFT): $87 million (9% of AUM)
2. Apple (AAPL): $79.44 million (8.2% of AUM)
3. Broadcom (AVGO): $73.91 million (7.7% of AUM)
4. Eli Lilly (LLY): $39.57 million (4.1% of AUM)
5. AbbVie (ABBV): $31.06 million (3.2% of AUM)

Other need-to-know info about ICON Public:

• Stock price: $147.59 as of July 8, 2025; one-year change: (54%); underperformed S&P 500 by 65.9 percentage points over the past year.
• No dividend; forward P/E ratio is 11.1; EV/EBITDA (LTM) is 10.1.
• Shares trade 57.4% below the 52-week high as of July 7, 2025.

Company overview

Note: TTM figures are as of March 31, 2025.

Company snapshot

• Provides clinical development services, including early and late-phase trials, patient recruitment, medical imaging, laboratory services, and regulatory consulting, primarily for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries.
• Operates as an outsourced clinical research organization, generating revenue by managing and analyzing clinical programs from compound selection through Phase I-IV studies for global clients.
• Serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, as well as government and public health organizations seeking comprehensive clinical development solutions.

ICON Public Limited is a leading global clinical research organization headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with over 41,000 employees. The company leverages its scale and expertise to deliver end-to-end clinical development and commercialization services, supporting clients across all phases of drug and medical device development. Its integrated approach and broad service offering position ICON as a strategic partner to major healthcare innovators worldwide.

Foolish take

It's an interesting time for ICON Public, the company's stock has declined more than 54% in the last year as its top-line sales stagnate in the face of a shifting political landscape. The company, along with much of the industry, is facing headwinds from cuts to healthcare spending from the U.S. government, which represents a significant share of ICON’s revenue.

While these issues are real, I think the fear is overblown and the stock is oversold. ICON has proved itself to be deft at cutting costs to offset the struggling revenue generation; even as sales stagnated, the company grew its net earnings by 20% each quarter for the past year, save for the most recent quarter. Furthermore, there is a good chance that cutbacks in healthcare spending are temporary.

Finally, ICON has heavily invested in aiding its research with artificial intelligence (AI). I believe that it is exactly the kind of business that stands to gain significantly from its implementation. There may be more downside in the short term, but for investors with a long-term outlook, I think ICON remains a solid choice.

Glossary

• 13F AUM: The total market value of securities reported by an institutional investment manager in SEC Form 13F filings. AUM is assets under management.
• SEC filing: Official documents submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing financial or ownership information.
• Post-trade holding: The number of shares or assets a fund owns after completing a buy or sell transaction.
• Forward P/E ratio: A valuation metric comparing a company’s current share price to its projected future earnings per share.
• EV/EBITDA (LTM): Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization over the last 12 months.
• Clinical research organization (CRO): A company that provides outsourced research services for clinical trials and drug development.
• Phase I-IV studies: Stages of clinical trials testing safety, efficacy, and side effects of new drugs or treatments.
• Outsourced clinical development: Contracting external firms to manage and conduct clinical trials or drug development activities.
• Transaction value: The total dollar amount involved in a specific buy or sell of securities.
• Mid-sized position: An investment holding that represents a moderate percentage of a fund’s total assets.
• TTM (Trailing 12 Months): Financial data measured over the most recent 12-month period.
• Market value: The current total worth of a security or portfolio based on prevailing market prices.