Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Charles River Laboratories from “strong buy” to “hold.” Analyst views remain mostly positive, with MarketBeat reporting a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $302.33.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $3.09 versus a $2.97 consensus and revenue of $982.73 million versus $960.36 million expected.
• Company insiders sold 113,123 shares worth about $33.9 million over the past 90 days; institutional investors own 98.91% of the stock.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $282.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $291.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $302.33.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $350.30 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of -72.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $146.20 and a one year high of $379.63.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.12. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.75% and a negative net margin of 5.96%. The firm had revenue of $982.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $960.36 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director James Foster sold 24,042 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $8,414,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 31,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,058,600. The trade was a 43.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Birgit Girshick sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $1,819,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,080,038.70. The trade was a 15.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,123 shares of company stock valued at $33,864,118. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 546.1% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,782,000 after acquiring an additional 5,106 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 271.3% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 11,559 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $3,410,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter worth about $5,024,000. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 733.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 35,428 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,452,000 after purchasing an additional 31,177 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is a contract research and laboratory services company that supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and academic research organizations. The company provides products and services used throughout the drug-development process, from early discovery and research through preclinical testing and manufacturing support.

Its offerings include research models, laboratory animal management, discovery and safety assessment services, toxicology testing, bioanalysis, and support for biologic, cell and gene therapy programs.

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