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

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the medical research company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.62% from the company’s current price.

CRL has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CRL traded down $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $212.54. 236,280 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 613,091. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $166.87 and a 12-month high of $275.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.60.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.72 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,467 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,638,290,000 after acquiring an additional 66,161 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,359,000 after buying an additional 31,359 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after buying an additional 509,163 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,513,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $409,985,000 after buying an additional 45,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 1,182,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $320,336,000 after buying an additional 26,892 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).