Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Sets New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $305.14 and last traded at $305.0610, with a volume of 465342 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $290.19.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CRL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $305.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Evercore set a $330.00 price objective on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler set a $300.00 price objective on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $291.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Nancy C. Andrews sold 573 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.24, for a total value of $163,442.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $410,175.12. The trade was a 28.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James Foster sold 33,561 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $10,068,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 31,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,478,800. This represents a 51.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 90,990 shares of company stock worth $25,731,388 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Charles River Laboratories International News

Here are the key news stories impacting Charles River Laboratories International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised earnings forecasts: Zacks Research increased its FY2026 EPS estimate to $11.17 from $11.15, FY2027 to $12.54 from $12.49, and FY2028 to $13.92 from $13.82. It also raised several quarterly estimates by $0.01-$0.02 and maintained a “Strong-Buy” rating, signaling improving expectations for Charles River’s earnings outlook. Zacks Research earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded the stock: The brokerage reportedly raised Charles River Laboratories to “Strong Buy,” potentially adding institutional support and reinforcing the bullish analyst view. UBS upgrades Charles River Laboratories to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Digital laboratory partnership announced: Charles River and Autolomous launched Apollo Orchestrate within Charles River’s Apollo platform, aiming to improve laboratory execution and workflow automation. The initiative could strengthen the company’s technology offering and support longer-term growth. Charles River and Autolomous launch Apollo Orchestrate
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent rally may be prompting profit-taking: CRL recently gained 5.6% during a broad market rally and reached a new 52-week high. That momentum is supportive, but investors may be locking in gains, contributing to near-term weakness. Charles River Laboratories gains in broad rally
• Negative Sentiment: Fundamental concerns remain: The company’s latest reported revenue declined 2.7% year over year, while its valuation remains elevated after the sharp advance. Those factors may be limiting enthusiasm despite the favorable analyst revisions.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Amundi boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 175.2% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 773,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,397,000 after acquiring an additional 492,301 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 14.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,652,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $285,001,000 after acquiring an additional 210,260 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth about $24,237,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 511,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,058,000 after acquiring an additional 95,619 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,558.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 83,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,685,000 after purchasing an additional 78,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.08, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $280.49 and a 200 day moving average of $220.15. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $980.53 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.75% and a negative net margin of 5.96%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 11.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is a contract research organization that provides products and services to support pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic research. The company helps customers discover, develop and manufacture new medicines, vaccines and other healthcare products.

Its offerings include research models and related services, preclinical drug discovery, pharmacology, toxicology, bioanalysis and safety assessment. Charles River also provides laboratory and manufacturing solutions for biologics, cell and gene therapies, microbial testing and other specialized life sciences applications.

Founded in 1947, Charles River Laboratories serves customers worldwide through operations across North America, Europe and Asia.