ICLR vs WDC: Buy Signal vs Watchlist-Only
How did ICON plc (ICLR) and Western Digital (WDC) fare under JumpstartSignal's 5-stage screening pipeline across our full 2012–2025 walk-forward backtest? We flagged ICLR 4 times (8 signal days, first signal in 2013) and WDC 18 times (224 signal days, first signal in 2012). Every entry price, return, and SPY comparison below is from the frozen backtest snapshot.
📌 Note: WDC only ever reached our MONITOR watchlist tier, it was never promoted to a SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal. ICLR did reach SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY. That asymmetry is the story of this comparison.
Head-to-Head Stats
ICLR 🏆 SPOTLIGHT ICON plc · Healthcare
WDC 📌 MONITOR Western Digital · Technology
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.
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% |
WDC Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 2012 | $24.45 | +923% | +545% | +378% |
| Aug 23, 2012 | $25.63 | +876% | +505% | +372% |
| Jan 18, 2013 | $27.54 | +809% | +479% | +329% |
| Jun 17, 2013 | $38.85 | +544% | +428% | +116% |
| Aug 12, 2013 | $42.29 | +492% | +403% | +88% |
| Oct 16, 2013 | $43.16 | +480% | +392% | +88% |
| Dec 4, 2013 | $48.30 | +418% | +371% | +47% |
| Jan 31, 2014 | $52.92 | +373% | +369% | +4% |
| Jun 18, 2014 | $58.31 | +329% | +327% | +2% |
| Aug 15, 2014 | $62.99 | +297% | +321% | -23% |
| Jan 12, 2015 | $70.02 | +257% | +308% | -50% |
| Sep 15, 2017 | $60.63 | +313% | +214% | +99% |
| Nov 6, 2017 | $60.51 | +314% | +202% | +112% |
| Mar 5, 2021 | $50.31 | +397% | +89% | +309% |
| Apr 5, 2021 | $54.44 | +360% | +80% | +279% |
| Apr 26, 2021 | $53.35 | +369% | +76% | +294% |
| Apr 17, 2024 | $52.55 | +376% | +39% | +338% |
| Aug 14, 2025 | $74.66 | +235% | +9% | +226% |
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, WDC triggered entries 18× versus 4× for ICLR. 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
Did JumpstartSignal ever buy WDC?
No. WDC only ever cleared our weekly MONITOR tier, a watchlist of stocks matching some but not all of our buy criteria. MONITOR signals are published for research context, not executed as trades; only SPOTLIGHT and OPPORTUNITY signals enter the backtested portfolio. ICLR, by contrast, did reach SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY in our pipeline; that asymmetry is the core story of this page.
Is ICLR or WDC a better momentum stock?
These two are not directly comparable as momentum buys. ICLR reached our buy tiers and averaged -94% alpha per buy signal across 4 clusters. WDC only ever cleared the MONITOR watchlist (18 clusters, never promoted to a buy), so it has no buy-tier alpha. MONITOR signals are watch-only and not comparable to executed buy signals.
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 over the same period.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag WDC?
May 10, 2012 at an entry price of $24.45 (MONITOR watchlist tier only). That signal has returned +923% held to the snapshot date, versus +545% 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.