Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Charles River Laboratories International was upgraded from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased confidence in the company's stock.
• Recent analyses show a variety of price target upgrades from analysts, with Barclays and Evercore ISI raising their targets to $165.00 and $190.00, respectively.
• The company reported earnings of $3.12 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue also surpassing analyst predictions at $1.03 billion.

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.1%

CRL opened at $148.61 on Monday. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $91.86 and a fifty-two week high of $230.02. 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 fifty day moving average of $159.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.74, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.47.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $983.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 480.0% in the first quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 542.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 180 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 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).

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