Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Price Up 3.9% on Insider Buying Activity

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)’s share price traded up 3.9% on Monday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $172.45 and last traded at $169.45. 274,567 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,035,599 shares. The stock had previously closed at $163.02.

Specifically, COO Birgit Girshick purchased 1,514 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $164.63 per share, for a total transaction of $249,249.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 55,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,064,198.54. The trade was a 2.83 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James C. Foster purchased 6,075 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares in the company, valued at $30,302,271.39. This trade represents a 3.42 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CRL shares. CLSA downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $205.00 to $166.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 price target (down from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.71.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,136.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 14.69% and a net margin of 0.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $736,819,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738,018 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $172,752,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $98,886,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,820,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,776,000. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

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).