Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $170.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $190.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 1.62% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CRL. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE CRL opened at $167.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,115.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $150.79 and a 52 week high of $273.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $166.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $183.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This trade represents a 2.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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).