CRLCharles River Laboratories (CRL) presents a mixed investment profile. Fundamentally strong with consistent earnings beats and solid revenue growth, it is well-positioned within the life sciences services sector. However, recent technical indicators suggest some short-term caution, while its valuation metrics are a point to monitor. Thematic tailwinds in drug discovery and development remain supportive.
CRL benefits significantly from secular growth trends in the biopharmaceutical industry, including increased outsourcing of R&D services, advancements in drug discovery, and a growing demand for specialized testing. The company's broad service offering in drug discovery, non-clinical development, and manufacturing solutions aligns well with these trends.
CRL demonstrates robust financial health with consistent earnings beats, growing revenue, and a manageable debt level. Profitability metrics are solid, and the company maintains significant assets. The balance sheet indicates a healthy financial position.
The stock exhibits a mixed technical picture. While it has seen significant recent performance gains (e.g., +5.44% on the day), the daily RSI is in overbought territory. Moving averages are generally bullish, but some shorter-term indicators suggest potential consolidation or a slight pullback.
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Outsourcing Trends in Pharma R&D | 95 |
| Drug Discovery & Development Pipeline | 90 |
| Biologics and Advanced Therapies | 85 |
| Regulatory Landscape (Life Sciences) | 75 |
| Technological Integration (AI/ML) | 70 |
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 70 |
| Profitability | 40 |
| Growth | 80 |
| Balance Sheet Health | 75 |
| Cash Flow | 85 |
| Earnings Consistency | 90 |
| Factor | Score |
|---|---|
| Trend Analysis | 65 |
| Momentum | 50 |
| Volume | 70 |
| Support and Resistance | 75 |
| Short-Term Oscillators | 55 |
Consistent EPS Surprises
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) has consistently exceeded EPS estimates for the past several quarters, with a surprise percentage of 12.55% in Q2 2025, 5.07% in Q1 2025, and 6.76% in Q4 2024. This indicates a strong ability to meet or beat analyst expectations.
Improving P/E Ratio Trends
The P/E ratio has seen a significant decrease from 47.3 in 2021 to 18.3 in 2023, and is projected to be 880.5 for 2024, but the trend in quarterly P/E ratios (e.g., 129.2 in Q1 2024, -42.0 in Q4 2024, and 140.9 in Q3 2024) suggests potential stabilization and recovery from the most recent negative quarter, indicating potential undervaluation if future earnings rebound.
Recent Negative Net Income
CRL reported a net income of -$215.699 million in Q4 2024 and a net margin of -21.5%, a significant decline from previous periods (e.g., $474.624 million net income in Q4 2023 with an 11.5% net margin). This indicates recent profitability challenges.
Volatile and High P/E Ratio
The Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio is highly volatile, with a TTM P/E of -71.6 and a projected 2024 P/E of 880.5. This suggests significant uncertainty in future earnings and potential overvaluation if the company does not achieve expected profitability.
August 2025
6
Next Earnings Date
H: $2.51
A: $2.49
L: $2.33
H: 1.00B
A: 985.08M
L: 972.00M
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). The RMS segment produces and sells rodents, and purpose-bred rats and mice for use by researchers. This segment also provides a range of services to assist its clients in supporting the use of research models in research and screening pre-clinical drug candidates, including research models, genetically engineered models and services, insourcing solutions, and research animal diagnostic services. The DSA segment offers early and in vivo discovery services for the identification and validation of novel targets, chemical compounds, and antibodies through delivery of preclinical drug and therapeutic candidates ready for safety assessment; and safety assessment services, such as toxicology, pathology, safety pharmacology, bioanalysis, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics services. The Manufacturing segment provides in vitro methods for conventional and rapid quality control testing of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals and consumer products. This segment offers specialized testing of biologics that are outsourced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It utilizes Logica, a platform offering from Valo Health, to identify advanceable small molecule leads. It provides contract vivarium operation services to biopharmaceutical clients. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
160.55 USD
The 39 analysts offering 1 year price forecasts for CRL have a max estimate of 200.00 and a min estimate of 70.00.