Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with one sell rating, ten hold ratings, and five buy ratings among the sixteen analysts covering the firm.
• The average 12-month target price for the stock, updated by brokers, is $174.54, reflecting a range of price targets set by various research firms.
• In its latest quarterly earnings report, Charles River Laboratories exceeded earnings estimates with $2.34 EPS and *$984.17 million in revenue*, though revenue was down 2.7% year-over-year.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $174.54.

CRL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $188.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL traded down $2.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $166.89. 821,687 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 783,127. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -256.75, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.56 and a 200 day moving average of $149.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $236.88.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $984.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $942.34 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.19% and a negative net margin of 0.66%. The company's revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.27 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.41, for a total transaction of $72,705.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,513 shares in the company, valued at $2,837,385.33. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 86.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,850 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,343,000 after buying an additional 4,113 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 16,829 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter valued at $368,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 109.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 4,481 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 2,340 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc 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).