Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Short Interest Down 19.4% in March

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a drop of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 667 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 10.6% during the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 3,853 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,118 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $952,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,576 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $5,656,000 after buying an additional 4,671 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.71. 1,516,228 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 919,696. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 764.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $146.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.24. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $254.15.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRL has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

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).