Shares of Medpace Holdings (NASDAQ: MEDP), a clinical contract research organization (CRO) that supplies clinical development services to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries, rose 41.5% this week, according to data from S&P Global Intelligence.

The stock closed last Friday at $157.14, then opened on Monday at $157.74. Shares rose sharply on Tuesday, and a day later hit their 52-week high at $235.72. They closed the week a little lower at $222.32. So far this year, shares are flat, but are up more than 27% the past three months.

The driving force for the stock surge was the company's third-quarter earnings report, which it released Tuesday. Medpace reported $383.7 million in revenue for the quarter, up 29.8% year over year, while it had net income of $66 million, up 35.8% over the same period last year. It also reported $2.05 in earnings per share (EPS), compared to $1.29 in EPS in the same period a year ago.The report represented a bit of an earnings surprise to analysts, who had predicted EPS of $1.34.

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Source Fool.com