JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target to $165.00

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $165.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on CRL. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. William Blair lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.71.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL opened at $163.11 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $172.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.09. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,087.39, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $150.79 and a 1-year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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).