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Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States and internationally. With a market cap of $6.7 billion, the company operates through Research Models and Services, Discovery and Safety Assessment, and Manufacturing Solutions segments.
CRL has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year and in 2025. CRL stock prices have declined 37.2% over the past 52 weeks and 25.9% on a YTD basis, compared to the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 10.2% gains over the past year and a 1.3% decline in 2025.
Narrowing the focus, CRL has also lagged behind the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) 10.1% fall over the past 52 weeks and its 5.3% decline in 2025.
CRL’s stock surged 18.7% following the release of its better-than-expected Q1 earnings on May 7. Despite a 2.7% year-over-year decline in its revenue to $984.2 million, mainly caused by the impact of foreign currency translation and declines in all three business segments, the results still surpassed Street’s estimates. Moreover, its non-GAAP operating margin grew to 19.1%, driven primarily by the benefit of cost savings resulting from restructuring initiatives. The company’s non-GAAP net income also rose 1.3% from the previous year’s quarter to $119.1 million. CRL’s adjusted EPS grew 3.1% year-over-year to $2.34 and surpassed the consensus estimates by 13.6%.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect CRL to report a 7.1% year-over-year decrease in adjusted EPS to $9.59. On the positive note, CRL has an impressive earnings surprise history. It has successfully beaten the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 15 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on four “Strong Buy” ratings and 11 “Holds.”
The configuration is more bullish than three months ago, when only three analysts recommended a “Strong Buy” and two analysts recommended a “Strong Sell” rating.
On May 23, Redburn Atlantic analyst Jamie Clark upgraded Charles River's rating from “Neutral” to “Buy” but lowered its price target from $188 to $182.
As of writing, CRL’s mean price target of $158.64 indicates a premium of 16% from the current market prices. Whereas, its Street-high target of $182 indicates an impressive upside of 33.1% from the current market prices.
