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

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) saw a large 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 daily trading volume, of 667,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

NYSE:CRL opened at $163.77 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.14. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $160.85 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a P/E 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $975.99 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRL. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $203.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This trade represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth approximately $601,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,745 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $95,086,000 after acquiring an additional 85,759 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,018 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,064,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter valued at $966,000. 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).