UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at UBS Group from $357.00 to $387.00 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 would suggest a potential upside of 14.53% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore set a $330.00 target price on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $264.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.17.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $24.89 during trading on Thursday, reaching $337.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,063,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,226,030. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $305.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.19. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $146.20 and a fifty-two week high of $379.63. The firm has a market cap of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 371.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The medical research company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.12. Charles River Laboratories International had a negative net margin of 5.96% and a positive return on equity of 15.75%. The company had revenue of $982.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.43 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 11.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, EVP Shannon M. Parisotto sold 2,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.41, for a total transaction of $742,547.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,655,578.87. This trade represents a 30.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director James Foster sold 24,042 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $8,414,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 31,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,058,600. This trade represents a 43.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 102,299 shares of company stock worth $31,050,863 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 36.9% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,306 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,378,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period. Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth approximately $1,670,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter worth approximately $1,360,000. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 2nd quarter worth $3,805,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 225,314 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $51,099,000 after acquiring an additional 6,401 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Charles River Laboratories International

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc is a contract research and laboratory services company that supports pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and academic research organizations. The company provides products and services used throughout the drug-development process, from early discovery and research through preclinical testing and manufacturing support.

Its offerings include research models, laboratory animal management, discovery and safety assessment services, toxicology testing, bioanalysis, and support for biologic, cell and gene therapy programs.