IQVIA Holdings (IQV) Stock Up 17.5% Over a Year: Here's Why
Despite a debt-laden balance sheet, shares of IQVIA Holdings IQV have gained 17.5% in the past year against 11.2% decline of the industry it belongs to and 7.8% fall of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
Catalysts Behind the Upside
IQVIA Holdings looks strong on the back of its technological suite. The company offers an extensive range of technology solutions in the form of cloud-based applications and related services. Its Software as a Service (“SaaS”) solution supports a vast range of clinical and commercial processes.
By combining its database, healthcare expertise and therapeutic information collected from more than 100 countries, IQVIA Holdings creates its Global Market Insight offerings such as MIDAS, Analytics Link and Disease Insights. All these solutions and services are used by healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to organize, enhance and implement clinical as well as commercial strategies in a coordinated manner. The company secured major wins for its tech offerings in the form of different awards and deals with new as well as old clients in the first and the second quarters of 2018.
Strategic collaborations such as the agreement with Roche, which includes the deployment and usage of IQVIA commercial technologies globally, partnership with Genomics England to build a real-world research platform, which integrates clinical and de-identified genomics data, and a technology deal with Theramex (a global pharmaceutical company dedicated to women’s health) should help the company strengthen its technological solutions. The recent launch of a Software as a Service (“SaaS”) eConsent tool for use in clinical trials is another major positive.
The company’s efforts to help its clients gain an accurate and deeper understanding of the entire healthcare system and its related processing by providing access to real-world data are appreciable. Such efforts should help the company strengthen its foothold in the real-world business. The company continues to make significant investments for the expansion of its real-world platform and capabilities.
All these factors seem to be working in favor of the company which saw its Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) segment revenues increase 13.8% on a reported basis and 12.5% on a constant-currency basis in the first nine months of 2018. The segment delivers critical information, technology solutions and real-world insights and services to life science customers.
Zacks Rank & 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 better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Republic Services RSG, Waste Connections WCN and Navigant Consulting NCI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for Republic Services, Waste Connections and Navigant is pegged at 10.7%, 11.7% and 13.5%, respectively.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
Click here for the 6 trades >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
