Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Separately, Barrington Research upped their target price on Charles River Associates from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st.

Charles River Associates Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CRAI opened at $177.26 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.91. Charles River Associates has a 52 week low of $133.54 and a 52 week high of $214.01.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $181.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $176.63 million. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 25.88%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Charles River Associates news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.62, for a total value of $1,429,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 141,545 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,981,307.90. This represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of Charles River Associates stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.46, for a total transaction of $329,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,594,497.58. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Associates

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRAI. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the fourth quarter worth approximately $281,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the first quarter worth $329,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Charles River Associates in the 1st quarter valued at $360,000. 84.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Charles River Associates

CRA International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues.