Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $198.36.

CRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price objective (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % 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. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,583,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 226.7% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,802 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 977,073 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $180,368,000 after acquiring an additional 5,805 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.0 %

CRL opened at $163.62 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,090.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $150.79 and a one year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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).