Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $170.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $190.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 2.71% from the company’s previous close.

CRL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $165.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,103.39, a PEG 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 has a 1-year low of $150.79 and a 1-year high of $274.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.49 and a 200-day moving average of $183.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This trade represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Birgit Girshick acquired 1,514 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, with a total value of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,064,198.54. This trade 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,071.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 190 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 311.5% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 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).