Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of Charles River Laboratories International gapped up from $162.00 to $167.50, but are currently trading at approximately $156.82 after a 2.6% decline.
• Recent analyst reports indicate a mixed outlook, with six analysts rating the stock as a Buy and the average target price set at $177.07.
• The company reported earnings of $3.12 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.62, with quarterly revenue of $1.03 billion.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $162.00, but opened at $167.50. Charles River Laboratories International shares last traded at $156.82, with a volume of 267,965 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 4.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.72. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of -115.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.47.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.62. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for 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%.The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,800,681.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,142 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. WESCAP Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.8% in the second quarter. WESCAP Management Group Inc. now owns 2,443 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 3,916 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).