Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 2,386,364 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 191% from the previous session’s volume of 820,287 shares.The stock last traded at $97.76 and had previously closed at $99.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. William Blair lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.97 and a 200 day moving average of $177.65. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 638.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Birgit Girshick bought 1,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This represents a 2.83 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter worth about $172,752,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,886,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $752,508,000 after purchasing an additional 335,658 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,820,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,776,000. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).