The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Neutral

The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $170.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $190.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. William Blair downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $167.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,115.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.66. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $150.79 and a fifty-two week high of $273.57.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,302,271.39. The trade was a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $715,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 52.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,001 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 72 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).