Banco Santander S.A. Increases Holdings in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Medpace Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) by 51.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,959 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 667 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Medpace were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MEDP. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medpace in the first quarter valued at $307,000. Natixis purchased a new position in Medpace during the 1st quarter valued at about $727,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Medpace during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Medpace by 106.4% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Medpace by 15.9% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 67,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,401,000 after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the last quarter. 77.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medpace Stock Down 1.2 %

MEDP opened at $337.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $340.42 and its 200-day moving average is $373.77. Medpace Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $268.80 and a 52-week high of $459.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Medpace (NASDAQ:MEDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The company reported $3.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $533.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $540.99 million. Medpace had a return on equity of 50.87% and a net margin of 17.66%. Medpace’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Medpace Holdings, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Baird R W downgraded Medpace from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Medpace in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lowered shares of Medpace from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $420.00 to $350.00 in a report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Medpace from $413.00 to $372.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Medpace from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $345.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Medpace presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $380.00.

Medpace Company Profile

Medpace Holdings, Inc provides clinical research-based drug and medical device development services in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company offers a suite of services supporting the clinical development process from Phase I to Phase IV in various therapeutic areas. It provides clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries; and development plan design, coordinated central laboratory, project management, regulatory affairs, clinical monitoring, data management and analysis, pharmacovigilance new drug application submissions, and post-marketing clinical support services.