Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of 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 Trading Down 0.3%

Charles River Associates stock traded down $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $195.12. The company had a trading volume of 163,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,830. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.91. Charles River Associates has a 1-year low of $133.54 and a 1-year high of $214.01. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $185.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.50.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The business services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $181.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.63 million. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 7.31%. As a group, analysts forecast that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.62, for a total value of $1,429,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,981,307.90. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $329,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,594,497.58. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Charles River Associates during the fourth quarter worth $249,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the fourth quarter worth $281,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the first quarter worth $329,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the first quarter valued at $360,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company's stock.

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.