Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Given New $250.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its target price boosted by UBS Group from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

CRL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of 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 shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $215.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.27. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12 month low of $166.87 and a 12 month high of $275.00. The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.96, a PEG ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 17.4% in the third quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC now owns 7,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth about $168,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 56.3% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 250,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,573,000 after purchasing an additional 90,000 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 152,800 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $30,097,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2,336.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 96,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $19,081,000 after buying an additional 92,895 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by 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).