Robert W. Baird Upgrades Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Outperform

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was upgraded by stock analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a $199.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $178.00. Robert W. Baird’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.46% from the stock’s current price.

CRL has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays raised Charles River Laboratories International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $195.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $142.00 to $195.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL stock traded down $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $167.99. 900,950 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,198,522. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $91.86 and a 52-week high of $222.10. The stock has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -126.31, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $168.00 and its 200 day moving average is $155.01.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.43 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.74% and a negative net margin of 1.69%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,800,681.60. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 793 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 82.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 186 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 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).