Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $253.23.

CRL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:CRL opened at $226.78 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $161.65 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $253.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.19.

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

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $626,155.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Victoria L. Creamer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.70, for a total transaction of $1,268,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,550 shares in the company, valued at $3,437,635. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 5,882 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.20, for a total value of $1,418,738.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $626,155.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,932 shares of company stock worth $3,693,663. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,877,000. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter valued at $173,174,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,506,293 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $505,821,000 after purchasing an additional 653,790 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at $97,675,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 499.1% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 368,984 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,228,000 after purchasing an additional 307,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

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).