Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock opened at $215.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.27. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $166.87 and a 12-month high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $346,821,000 after buying an additional 509,163 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $67,060,000 after acquiring an additional 238,766 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $170,615,000 after purchasing an additional 163,056 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,507,000 after purchasing an additional 110,725 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).