Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Rating Lowered to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has downgraded Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating.
• Multiple firms have either upgraded their ratings or raised their price targets for CRL, with Citigroup raising the target from $150 to $200.
• The company reported an EPS of $3.12 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.50, indicating positive financial performance.

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

CRL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective 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 stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.07.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded down $1.12 on Friday, reaching $152.77. The company had a trading volume of 252,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,111. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 1.47. 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 moving average price is $160.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.02. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $230.02.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The medical research company reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,800,681.60. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRL. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 480.0% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 174 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 93.5% during the first 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 last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 542.9% in the second quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 180 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

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).