Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $178.00 to $199.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Argus set a $200.00 price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI raised 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. William Blair upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:CRL opened at $197.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -126.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Charles River Laboratories International has a twelve month low of $91.86 and a twelve month high of $200.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $179.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.54.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.11. Charles River Laboratories International had a negative net margin of 2.07% and a positive return on equity of 15.78%. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $990.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,839,743 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $913,686,000 after acquiring an additional 27,989 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 29.1% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,291,126 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $353,750,000 after purchasing an additional 516,521 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 8.0% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,950,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $293,555,000 after purchasing an additional 144,732 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,415,348 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $214,751,000 after purchasing an additional 314,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,249,178 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $195,446,000 after buying an additional 12,035 shares in the last quarter. 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 is a leading provider of research models and preclinical and clinical support services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company’s core offerings include discovery, safety assessment, toxicology, and pathology services, as well as supply of laboratory animals and related diagnostics. Services extend across in vivo and in vitro testing, biologics testing, and support for advanced therapies, helping clients accelerate drug development from early discovery through regulatory submission.

Founded in 1947 in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Charles River has grown through strategic investments and acquisitions to establish a broad portfolio of capabilities.