Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Charles River Laboratories International was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting changes in analyst sentiment regarding the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, other analysts have recently upgraded the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.69.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $3.12, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieved revenue of $1.03 billion, indicating a 0.6% year-over-year increase.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

CRL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $188.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $179.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.69.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $0.9250 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $157.5550. 148,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.52, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $230.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.76.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.76 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.74% and a negative net margin of 1.69%.Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $60,016.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,738,396.64. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at about $539,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 8,253 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at about $609,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,565 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).