Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $165.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 3.41% from the stock’s previous close.

CRL has been the topic of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $142.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $178.00 to $199.00 in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $3.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $170.82. 1,905,479 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,199,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -128.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.44. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12 month low of $91.86 and a 12 month high of $222.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.11. Charles River Laboratories International had a negative net margin of 1.69% and a positive return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $990.43 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,116 shares in the company, valued at $3,800,681.60. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,231,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 88,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,307,000 after purchasing an additional 25,744 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balefire LLC now owns 13,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,047,000 after purchasing an additional 3,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 47.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 12,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).