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

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Citigroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $175.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $155.00. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 4.30% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on CRL. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.36.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $167.79 on Tuesday. Charles River Laboratories International has a twelve month low of $150.79 and a twelve month high of $275.00. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,118.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its 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 net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

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).