Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Charles River Laboratories International's stock rating was upgraded from "buy" to "strong-buy" by Wall Street Zen, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.
• Barclays has increased the stock's price target from $165.00 to $195.00, while other firms have also raised their price targets, suggesting a positive outlook among multiple analysts.
• The company reported earnings of $3.12 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and the firm has shown revenue growth of 0.6% year-over-year.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRL. Barclays raised Charles River Laboratories International from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $170.05 on Wednesday. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $91.86 and a one year high of $230.02. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $159.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -127.86, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of Charles River Laboratories International 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,800,681.60. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 44,500 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $6,698,000 after purchasing an additional 5,148 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 12.7% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,557 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,914 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 205,402 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,917,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).

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