Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL – Get Rating) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the medical research company’s stock.

CRL has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $241.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.83.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 4.9 %

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $194.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $235.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.30. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $181.36 and a 52 week high of $308.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The medical research company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 12.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, CEO James C. Foster sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $5,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,148,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 4,558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.41, for a total value of $1,159,600.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,004.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Foster sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $5,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 216,594 shares in the company, valued at $54,148,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,763 shares of company stock valued at $6,974,921 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 340,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $74,256,000 after acquiring an additional 125,987 shares during the last quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 341,080 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $74,321,000 after acquiring an additional 154,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $468,000. 97.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charles River Laboratories International

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Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is an early-stage contract research company, which provides research models required in the research and development of new drugs, devices, and therapies. It operates through the following segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions.