Evercore ISI Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $225.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “in-line” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. CLSA began coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 13.6 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $214.25 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.60. The company has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, 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 1 year low of $166.87 and a 1 year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% in 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 buying an additional 66,161 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,359,000 after purchasing an additional 31,359 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,513,138 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $409,985,000 after purchasing an additional 45,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 1,182,268 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $320,336,000 after purchasing an additional 26,892 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).