Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target Raised to $250.00 at UBS Group

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its target price upped by UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CRL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. CLSA raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 2.0 %

Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $4.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $214.58. The company had a trading volume of 353,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,736. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $193.56 and its 200-day moving average is $208.61. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $166.87 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. American Trust boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).