Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL is Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. reduced its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 4.1%, making it their 4th largest holding at roughly 8.6% of their portfolio.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Charles River, with Goldman Sachs raising its holdings by 407% and Assenagon Asset Management increasing theirs by 1,721%.
• Analysts have increased price targets for the stock, with Citigroup upgrading it from "neutral" to "buy" and setting a new target of $200, reflecting strong investor sentiment.

Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,520 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,660 shares during the period. Charles River Laboratories International comprises about 8.6% of Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $13,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 407.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 997,488 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $150,142,000 after purchasing an additional 800,762 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,721.1% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 570,097 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $85,811,000 after buying an additional 538,792 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 304.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 627,710 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $94,484,000 after buying an additional 472,606 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 144.3% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 544,825 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $82,007,000 after acquiring an additional 321,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 16,153.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 267,202 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $40,219,000 after acquiring an additional 265,558 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $177.56 on Monday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $230.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $159.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.16. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -133.51, a PEG ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.62. The business 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%.Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles River Laboratories International 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).

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