Shares of IQVIA Holdings (NYSE:IQV) Inc. IQV have charted a solid trajectory, appreciating 34.4% over the past year, surpassing the 49.8% decline of the industry it belongs to and 23.8% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
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Let’s delve into the factors that have contributed to the company’s outperformance.
Consecutive Earnings & Revenue Beat
IQVIA Holdings came up with better-than-expected earnings and revenue performance in all the four quarters of 2020 as well as in the first three quarters of 2021. The company’s bottom line continued to benefit from improvements in operational efficiency and decline in interest expenses. Strength across the Technology & Analytics Solutions segment boosted the top line.
Robust Set of Capabilities
IQVIA Holdings has a strong healthcare-specific global IT infrastructure, analytics-driven clinical development capabilities, a robust real-world solutions ecosystem and a growing set of proprietary clinical as well as commercial applications that allow it to grow and retain relationships with healthcare stakeholders. The company’s combined offerings of research and development, and commercial services have been helping it to develop trusted relationships, in turn resulting in a diversified base of more than 10,000 clients in over 100 countries.
Shareholder-Friendly Moves
IQVIA has a consistent record of share repurchase. In 2020, 2019 and 2018, the company had repurchased shares worth $423.1 million, $945 million and $1.41 billion, respectively. During the first nine months of 2021, the company repurchased shares worth $202 million. Such moves instill investors’ confidence by positively impacting earnings per share.
Zacks Rank and 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 Business Services sector are Avis Budget (NASDAQ:CAR) CAR, Cross Country Healthcare (NASDAQ:CCRN) (CCRN) and Accenture (NYSE:ACN) (ACN), each sporting a Zacks Rank #1.
Avis Budget has an expected earnings growth rate of 420.6% for the current year. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 76.9%, on average.
Avis Budget’s shares have surged 744.3% in the past year. The company has a long-term earnings growth of 19.4%.
Cross Country Healthcare has an expected earnings growth rate of 447.8% for the current year. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 75%, on average.
Cross Country Healthcare’s shares have surged 201% in the past year. The company has a long-term earnings growth of 21.5%.
Accenture has an expected earnings growth rate of 19.7% for the current year. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.3%, on average.
Accenture’s shares have surged 43.2% in the past year. The company has a long-term earnings growth of 10%.
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Accenture PLC (ACN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV): Free Stock Analysis Report
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