Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $322.00 to $352.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.17% from the stock’s previous close.

CRL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. UBS Group began coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $357.00 target price for the company. CLSA downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $219.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays raised their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.17.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL traded up $24.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $337.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,063,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,030. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $305.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.19. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $146.20 and a 1 year high of $379.63. The company has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.33, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $982.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.75% and a negative net margin of 5.96%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nancy C. Andrews sold 573 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 1,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $410,175.12. The trade was a 28.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Birgit Girshick sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $1,819,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 36,013 shares in the company, valued at $10,080,038.70. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 102,299 shares of company stock worth $31,050,863 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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 the business. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 321.9% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 5,565 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 4,246 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 483.6% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 792,576 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $233,818,000 after buying an additional 656,777 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2,931.8% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 10,096 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after acquiring an additional 9,763 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,334.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 14,376 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,241,000 after acquiring an additional 13,374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 457.3% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 436,055 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $128,641,000 after acquiring an additional 357,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is a contract research and laboratory services company that supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and academic research organizations. The company provides products and services used throughout the drug-development process, from early discovery and research through preclinical testing and manufacturing support.

Its offerings include research models, laboratory animal management, discovery and safety assessment services, toxicology testing, bioanalysis, and support for biologic, cell and gene therapy programs.