Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Rating Increased to Neutral at Citigroup

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Citigroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $175.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $155.00. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 6.96% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CRL. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $198.36.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $163.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a PE ratio of 1,090.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.58. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $150.79 and a 12-month high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $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. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).