Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Makes New $1.54 Million Investment in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. $CRL

Key Points

• Lecap Asset Management Ltd. has invested approximately $1.54 million in Charles River Laboratories International by purchasing 10,135 shares, marking a new position for the fund.
• Research analysts have recently increased their ratings for Charles River Laboratories, with Citigroup upgrading the stock to "buy" and raising its price target from $150 to $200.
• Charles River Laboratories reported earnings of $3.12 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.6% to $1.03 billion.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,135 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 178 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 83.7% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 474 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at about $71,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 49.8% during the second quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 496 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRL. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 8.9%

Shares of CRL stock opened at $170.42 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $91.86 and a 52-week high of $230.02. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 1.50. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.51 and a 200-day moving average of $147.47.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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 prior year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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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