Morgan Stanley Cuts Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target to $184.00

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its target price reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $184.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.92% from the stock’s previous close.

CRL has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.79.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL opened at $162.95 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $182.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.47. The company has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $159.65 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This trade represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 12,237 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,517 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,396 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $669,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in 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).