Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $253.23.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $229.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $253.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.52. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $161.65 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The stock has a market cap of $11.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.40.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The medical research company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $991.25 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.98 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $1,418,738.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at $626,155.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total value of $1,268,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,437,635. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total transaction of $1,418,738.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $626,155.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 105.7% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth $37,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth $42,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 100.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 174 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).