Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Charles River Laboratories International received a rating upgrade from Wall Street Zen, moving from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating.
• Investment analysts have notably increased their price targets for the company's stock, with targets now ranging from $160 to $200.
• In its latest earnings report, the company posted an EPS of $3.12, exceeding expectations and seeing a growth in revenue compared to the previous year.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $188.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.8%

NYSE CRL traded up $4.33 on Friday, hitting $157.05. 716,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 758,702. The company has a market capitalization of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -118.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.36 and a 200 day moving average of $148.52. Charles River Laboratories International has a twelve month low of $91.86 and a twelve month high of $230.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at $1,231,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 15.4% during the first 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. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 13.1% during the first 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 61.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at $213,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).