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

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $247.80.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRL shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $250.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Finally, TheStreet cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Thursday, May 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William D. Barbo sold 5,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.24, for a total value of $1,251,954.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $780,326.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Richard F. Wallman bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $198.79 per share, for a total transaction of $198,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,790. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William D. Barbo sold 5,763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.24, for a total transaction of $1,251,954.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $780,326.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,934 shares of company stock worth $1,722,048. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter worth $49,570,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,047 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 88,746 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $18,659,000 after acquiring an additional 29,466 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 544,335 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $114,446,000 after purchasing an additional 33,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Girard Partners LTD. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the second quarter valued at about $4,348,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $206.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.81 and a 200-day moving average of $205.63. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $181.22 and a one year high of $262.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The medical research company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 18.99% and a net margin of 11.58%. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current year.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc, a non-clinical contract research organization, 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).