| COMPANY |
ICON Public Limited Company |
| COURT |
United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York |
| CASE NUMBER |
2:25-cv-00763 |
| JUDGE |
The Hon. Arlene Rosario Lindsay |
| CLASS PERIOD |
July 27, 2023 and October 23, 2024 |
| SECURITY TYPE |
Ordinary Shares |
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE IS APRIL 11, 2025.
If you have suffered losses and would like to discuss your rights, please fill out this form or you may contact Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com.
Case Background:
A class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of those who purchased or otherwise acquired ICON Public Limited Company (“ICON”) (NASDAQ: ICLR) ordinary shares between July 27, 2023 and October 23, 2024, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
The Class Period begins on July 27, 2023. The day before, after the market closed on July 26, 2023, ICON issued a press release reporting the company’s financial results for its second fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2023 (the “2Q23 Release”). The 2Q23 Release stated that ICON generated $2.02 billion in quarterly revenues, representing a 4.4% increase from $1.94 billion in the prior year quarter. The 2Q23 Release further stated that ICON’s adjusted EBITDA grew 17% year-over-year to $414 million, up from $354 million in the prior year quarter. The 2Q23 Release also stated that ICON’s gross business wins during the quarter were $2.9 billion and cancellations were $441 million, resulting in net new business awards of $2.4 billion and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2. Moreover, ICON represented in the 2Q23 Release that the company was experiencing “positive customer demand trends.”
On July 27, 2023, ICON held a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s financial and operational results for its second fiscal quarter of 2023. During the call, an analyst asked about the potential for ICON’s business to grow in light of the capital environment. In response, ICON claimed that the company had potentially “more of an opportunity” as a result of capital conditions. ICON also emphasized during the call that requests for proposals (“RFPs”) had continued to trend positively and that the purportedly high-level of business opportunities was “broad-based” across all customer segments.
On October 23, 2024, ICON released its third quarter 2024 financial results, missing consensus estimates by more than $100 million and revealing that several leading indicators of customer demand had materially deteriorated during the quarter. ICON further revealed that many clients had delayed or reduced ongoing studies, cancelled trial work, and/or delayed business awards for future engagements above historical norms. As a result, ICON cut its annual revenue guidance for fiscal 2024 by $220 million at the midpoint.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) ICON was suffering from a material loss of business due to customer cost reduction measures and other widespread funding limitations impacting the company’s client base; (2) ICON’s purported hybrid model offerings were insufficient to shield the company from the adverse effects of a significant market downturn; (3) the RFPs ICON received from its biotechnology customers during the Class Period were used in substantial part as price discovery tools, and thus were not indicative of underlying client demand; (4) ICON’s customers had canceled contracts, limited or reduced engagements, delayed clinical trial work, and/or failed to enter into new contracts with ICON for additional clinical trial work at historical rates once existing projects ended (or were scheduled to end) in 2024; (5) ICON’s two largest customers were diversifying certain providers away from the company; (6) as a result of the foregoing, ICON’s reported net new business awards and book-to-bill metrics materially misrepresented client demand for ICON’s services; and (7) as a result, Defendants’ positive statements about the company’s business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
What is a Lead Plaintiff?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Filling out the online form above or communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.