Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $256.38.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $214.79 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12 month low of $161.65 and a 12 month high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $231.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.31. The company has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.40.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.24 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.16%. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 1,304 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.97, for a total value of $295,968.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,282,953.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 492,199 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,461,000 after acquiring an additional 11,053 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,119,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 63,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $12,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,461 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).