Evercore ISI Increases Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target to $225.00

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $214.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.38. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $166.87 and a one year high of $275.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.60.

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

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 4,424 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $914,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. American Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 976 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

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).