Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on CRL. Mizuho boosted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.29.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $197.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -148.51, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 1.50. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $91.86 and a fifty-two week high of $230.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.30.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.62. Charles River Laboratories International had a negative net margin of 1.69% and a positive return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 542.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 180 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 98.0% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 293 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).