Short Interest in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Declines By 19.4%

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,660,000 shares, a drop of 19.4% from the March 15th total of 3,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,230,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $5.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.17. 185,334 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 900,322. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock's fifty day moving average is $149.12 and its 200 day moving average is $172.68. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 747.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $91.86 and a 1 year high of $254.15.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The business had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $983.63 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $188.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, William Blair lowered Charles River Laboratories International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $165.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,435.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,112.50. The trade was a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,136,938,000 after purchasing an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $752,508,000 after acquiring an additional 335,658 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $330,231,000 after acquiring an additional 47,221 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $227,042,000 after acquiring an additional 14,787 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,067,327 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $197,029,000 after acquiring an additional 169,640 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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).