Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Given New $225.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its target price raised by Evercore ISI from $190.00 to $225.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CRL. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

NYSE CRL opened at $215.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $166.87 and a 1-year high of $275.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 60.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 691 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.0% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 10,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.3% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,272 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 10.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in 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 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).