BKNG vs ICLR: 2 Buy Signals vs 4 (2012–2025)
How did Booking Holdings (BKNG) and ICON plc (ICLR) fare under JumpstartSignal's 5-stage screening pipeline across our full 2012–2025 walk-forward backtest? We flagged BKNG 2 times (2 signal days, first signal in 2013) and ICLR 4 times (8 signal days, first signal in 2013). Every entry price, return, and SPY comparison below is from the frozen backtest snapshot.
Head-to-Head Stats
BKNG ✅ OPPORTUNITY Booking Holdings · Consumer Discretionary
ICLR 🏆 SPOTLIGHT ICON plc · Healthcare
Per-Signal Returns
Each bar below shows the best return from one signal cluster, held from the entry date through Feb 1, 2026. The SPY return over the same period is shown alongside each entry, alpha is the gap between the two.
BKNG Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 12, 2013 | $29.18 | +584% | +439% | +145% |
| Feb 12, 2014 | $48.95 | +308% | +363% | -55% |
ICLR Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2013 | $32.91 | +448% | +417% | +30% |
| Jun 24, 2015 | $68.93 | +162% | +290% | -129% |
| Jul 28, 2015 | $75.20 | +140% | +291% | -151% |
| Jan 17, 2017 | $80.07 | +125% | +250% | -124% |
What This Teaches
Signal frequency is not opinion; it's the pipeline firing or not firing against the same rules. Over the 2012–2025 window, ICLR triggered entries 4× versus 2× for BKNG. The lesson here isn't that one company is better than the other; it's that the template is tuned for a specific kind of setup and this pair shows which stock's price behaviour kept offering that setup.
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FAQ
Is BKNG or ICLR a better momentum stock?
In our 14-year backtest, BKNG had an average alpha of +45% per signal versus -94% for ICLR. BKNG produced 2 buy clusters vs 4 for ICLR.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag BKNG?
Apr 12, 2013 at an entry price of $29.18 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +584% held to the snapshot date, versus +439% for SPY over the same period.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag ICLR?
May 16, 2013 at an entry price of $32.91 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +448% held to the snapshot date, versus +417% for SPY.
Does this mean one stock is a buy and the other isn't?
No. Historical signal frequency and past returns are not buy recommendations. Our pipeline identifies entries that would have matched the template historically. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Use these pages as methodology research, not investment advice.
Where does the underlying data come from?
All entries on this page come from the R30 walk-forward validated backtest covering 2012-2025 (the 'seo_active' snapshot in our golden archive). Entry prices, returns, and SPY comparisons are computed from end-of-day OHLCV and frozen at snapshot time. See our methodology for details.