Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Lifted to “Strong-Buy” by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas Exane set a $250.00 price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $310.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $291.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $264.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $300.11.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $295.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of -61.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.40. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $146.20 and a one year high of $303.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $275.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The medical research company reported $3.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $980.53 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a negative net margin of 5.96% and a positive return on equity of 15.75%. Charles River Laboratories International’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 11.150-11.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Nancy C. Andrews sold 573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.24, for a total transaction of $163,442.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $410,175.12. This trade represents a 28.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 2,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.12, for a total transaction of $599,710.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,834.84. The trade was a 29.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 90,990 shares of company stock valued at $25,731,388. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 14.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,652,484 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $285,001,000 after buying an additional 210,260 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,135,027 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $195,792,000 after acquiring an additional 54,500 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 836,240 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $166,813,000 after acquiring an additional 66,803 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 175.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 773,315 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $133,397,000 after acquiring an additional 492,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 511,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $102,058,000 after acquiring an additional 95,619 shares in the last quarter. 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 is a contract research organization that provides products and services to support pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic research. The company helps customers discover, develop and manufacture new medicines, vaccines and other healthcare products.

Its offerings include research models and related services, preclinical drug discovery, pharmacology, toxicology, bioanalysis and safety assessment. Charles River also provides laboratory and manufacturing solutions for biologics, cell and gene therapies, microbial testing and other specialized life sciences applications.

Founded in 1947, Charles River Laboratories serves customers worldwide through operations across North America, Europe and Asia.