Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target Raised to $250.00 at UBS Group

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.62% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of CRL stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $212.54. 236,280 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,091. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $166.87 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $67,060,000 after buying an additional 238,766 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,615,000 after purchasing an additional 163,056 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,507,000 after purchasing an additional 110,725 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).