Short Interest in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Grows By 26.3%

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, a growth of 26.3% from the February 13th total of 2,320,000 shares. Approximately 5.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $177.02 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $167.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 1,180.13, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $150.79 and a 52-week high of $274.77.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % 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

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.31.

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).