Icon initiated with a Neutral at Redburn Atlantic

Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage of Icon (ICLR) with a Neutral rating and $311 price target. Detailed analysis of expected biopharma R&D spend suggests growth rates normalizing post-pandemic, and a shift in outsourcing practices from full-service outsourcing, or FSO, to functional service provider, or FSP, may result in Contract Research Organizations, or CROs, seeing lower revenue/contracts than historically, says the analyst, who is cautious on Icon but more positive on Iqvia (IQV), whose commercial business seems set to accelerate, and Thermo Fisher (TMO), which leverages its end-to-end leadership in life sciences to gain share.