Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Barclays

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Barclays from $330.00 to $375.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.98% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Argus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. CLSA downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $219.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $291.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.17.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 8.0%

Shares of NYSE CRL traded up $24.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $337.91. 1,063,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,030. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $146.20 and a 1 year high of $379.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $305.71 and a 200 day moving average of $225.19. The stock has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $982.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.75% and a negative net margin of 5.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, CEO Birgit Girshick sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $1,819,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,080,038.70. This trade represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Nancy C. Andrews sold 573 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.24, for a total transaction of $163,442.52. Following the sale, the director owned 1,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $410,175.12. The trade was a 28.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 102,299 shares of company stock valued at $31,050,863 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,652,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $285,001,000 after acquiring an additional 210,260 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,135,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $195,792,000 after purchasing an additional 54,500 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 483.6% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 792,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $233,818,000 after purchasing an additional 656,777 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 175.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 773,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $133,397,000 after purchasing an additional 492,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 11.2% during the first quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 501,152 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $86,449,000 after purchasing an additional 50,462 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is a contract research and laboratory services company that supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and academic research organizations. The company provides products and services used throughout the drug-development process, from early discovery and research through preclinical testing and manufacturing support.

Its offerings include research models, laboratory animal management, discovery and safety assessment services, toxicology testing, bioanalysis, and support for biologic, cell and gene therapy programs.