Short Interest in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Decreases By 19.4%

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a drop of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 5.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. William Blair cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $105.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,658,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,921. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $91.86 and a 52 week high of $254.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $151.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 705.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total transaction of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This represents 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, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,136,938,000 after purchasing an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 335,658 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $330,231,000 after acquiring an additional 47,221 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,067,327 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $197,029,000 after acquiring an additional 169,640 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 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).