Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Short Interest Up 5.6% in December

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the December 15th total of 2,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 667,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRL. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. CLSA lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of CRL stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $163.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,146,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $160.85 and a 1-year high of $275.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.64 and a 200 day moving average of $198.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. The trade was a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. American Trust increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 976 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during 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).