UPDATE: ISI Group Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on ICON plc on Solid 4Q Results

In a report published Wednesday, ISI Group reiterated its Buy rating on ICON plc

, and slightly raised its price target from $32.00 to $33.00. ISI Group noted, “ICON posted solid 4Q results, including net bookings of $378 MM and book-to-bill of 1.26x (vs. ISIe of $344MM and 1.16x), providing improved visibility on the revenue trajectory going forward. Revenue growth of 23.7% during 4Q was driven by the conversion of recent strong bookings as well as an increased contribution from ICLR's strategic partnership with Pfizer. Gross margins and operating margins both increased sequentially and year-over-year as central lab continues to improve and clinical research saw healthy margin pull-through. In addition, ICLR also raised its FY13 guidance, which now includes revenue of $1.275 Bn and EPS of $1.52 at the mid-point. The strong 4Q results and the increased FY13 guidance make us increasingly confident in ICLR's ability to execute on its strategy and create shareholder value. Given management's positive commentary around core margin pull-through as well as accretion from Cross County, we are raising our PT from $32.00 to $33.00 (equates to 16x FY14 EPS and 9.5x FY14 EBITDA) and reit. our Buy rating on shares of ICLR.” ICON plc closed on Tuesday at $28.73.