Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Price Down 3.4% – Time to Sell?

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)’s stock price was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $164.55 and last traded at $167.95. Approximately 127,730 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 712,822 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.31.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 3.5 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,117.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

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, 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 business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Foster bought 6,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the purchase, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,136,938,000 after buying an additional 60,497 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $752,508,000 after purchasing an additional 335,658 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $330,231,000 after buying an additional 47,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,042,000 after acquiring an additional 14,787 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).