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

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and fifteen have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $189.77.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRL. Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,970 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,583,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE CRL opened at $155.60 on Friday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $150.79 and a 1-year high of $273.32. The company has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,037.35, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $164.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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).