Charles River Laboratories (CRL)
Health Care · Contract Research Organization (CRO) · NYSE
Charles River Laboratories is a global, non-clinical contract research organization that partners with life sciences companies to streamline drug discovery and development.
What Charles River Laboratories does
Charles River Laboratories provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies, and academic institutions accelerate their research and drug development processes. The company operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions. Its offerings span the drug development continuum, from early-stage discovery and non-clinical safety testing to specialized manufacturing support and laboratory animal research models.
Themes: drug development outsourcing, pre-clinical research services, life science tools, biotech R&D services
Fundamentals
- Price$298.00 as of 2026-10-08 close
- Market cap$14.2B as of 2026-07-25 (share count; price 2026-10-08)
- 1-year return+71.8% 2025-10-08 close $173.47 → 2026-10-08 close $298.00
- P/En/a negative earnings
- Net margin-3.6% FY2025, SEC XBRL
- ROE-4.6% FY2025, SEC XBRL
- Debt / equity0.93 as of 2026-09-03
- Revenue growth (YoY)-0.7% as of 2026-09-03
- Revenue CAGR (3y)+0.3% SEC XBRL
- Beta1.37 as of 2026-09-03
- Last reported earnings2026-08-05 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
How CRL compares in its sector
- net profit marginmiddle range 430 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-09-03
- operating marginmiddle range 417 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-09-03
- return on equitymiddle range 510 covered Health Care peers, as of 2026-09-03
- 3-year revenue CAGRmiddle range 402 covered Health Care peers
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)top 25% 494 covered Health Care peers, as of FY2025
Position among covered Health Care companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
Top 10 scores & list membership
CRL is not currently in any published Top 10 list. Its scores are below.
Top 10 score
40.4 #1175 of 1,379 scored · #134 of 151 in Health Care
Trend 84th (a strong uptrend, with buyers in control) and capital return 51st (net share count bought back over the year 4, consecutive years of dividend increases 0 years); weakest is profitability (15th, return on equity -4.6%, operating margin 0.6%).
Scores as of 8 Oct 2026. Each bar is a percentile: how this company ranked against every company the score ranked, 0–100. A list is a published formula and its output, not a recommendation. Method version 4.
How Charles River Laboratories looks technically
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) is trading 40.4% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend. Its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 69 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal. A strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 31, with buyers in control. Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 10 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive). It made a new 20-day high about 4 trading days ago.
Trend
8
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 40.4% above its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a longer-term uptrend | +40.4% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $281.83 | $281.83 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $212.24 | $212.24 |
| Swing structure | each recent peak has been higher than the one before it and each dip has been shallower — the pattern chart-watchers call an uptrend, which describes where price has already been and not where it goes next | higher highs and higher lows |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing low 24 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 24 sessions |
| Wave structure | its recent swings can be read as a five-part upward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in leg 3 of five; the labelling fails if price closes below 267.27. It is one of several labellings that fit, and it describes the swings already printed, not what comes next. The same swings also read as a three-part correction in leg C. | possible upward five-wave sequence, in wave 3 (one of several readings) |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed above its 200-day average about 69 trading days ago — a "golden cross", a bullish long-term signal | 69 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | a strong uptrend is in place — ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 31, with buyers in control | 31.2 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 56.7 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading in the lower half of its 14-day range ($275.88 to $333.30) — its "stochastic" reading is 39 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been slipping within that range over the last few sessions. | 38.5 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 10 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive) | 10 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $333.30 | $333.30 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 10.6% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -10.6% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 103.6% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +103.5% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 10.6% below its highest point of the past year | 10.6% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day high about 4 trading days ago | 4 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day high about 4 trading days ago | 4 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $460.21 (set on 2021-09-24) | $460.21 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($149.93 to $310.77), and it has given back only a small part of its rise from last year’s low — 8% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $206.22 to $211.37. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 7.9% |
| From the all-time high | it is 35.2% below its all-time high | -35.3% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 20.4% above a support level at $237.24 — a price it turned at twice since 2026-07-01, most recently on 2026-07-10. Since 2024-10-08 it has 12 such levels below the current price and 0 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -20.4% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $19.92 (set on 2008-11-21) | $19.92 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 1396.0% above its all-time low | +1,396% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 30th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $11.95 between its high and its low — about 4.0% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $11.95 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $266.30 and $309.97 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $266.30 – $288.14 – $309.97 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 4.0% in a typical session — about typical for the companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 4.0% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 7.2 daily ranges above its 200-day average price (40.4% above it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 7.2 daily ranges above its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 1.19× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts have raised their average price target by 1.8% since the prior reading | +1.8% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating is unchanged since the prior reading | unchanged |
Candlestick patterns
2
| Since a doji | 9 sessions ago it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | 9 sessions ago |
|---|---|---|
| Since a bullish engulfing | 8 sessions ago it opened below the previous session's close and finished above that session's open — a "bullish engulfing" pair, where one up day more than undid the down day before it | 8 sessions ago |
Price gaps
3
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-10-08 1.1% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and had not traded back through that level by the close | -1.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Open gap | it gapped 2.5% above the previous close 15 sessions ago and has not traded back through the level it left behind at 273.41 — an "unfilled gap", which describes a price range no trade has since crossed and is not a forecast that it will be crossed | +2.5% |
| Gap filled | a 2.9% gap up opened on 2026-10-06 has been "filled" 2 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it closed again during the very session that opened it | 2 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it has closed lower 3 sessions in a row, a -4.11% move over the run — an unbroken run of down days, which describes what has already happened and says nothing about the next session | 3 sessions down |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock beat the market by 5.1 percentage points (the stock gained 6.1% while the market gained 1.0%) | +5.1% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock beat the market by 29.2 percentage points (the stock gained 33.1% while the market gained 3.8%) | +29.2% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock beat the market by 59.7 percentage points (the stock gained 77.1% while the market gained 17.5%) | +59.7% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock beat the market by 56.8 percentage points (the stock gained 71.8% while the market gained 15.0%) | +56.8% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 6 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: a "golden cross" — its 50-day average is above its 200-day, trading above its 200-day average, MACD momentum is positive, a strong uptrend, with buyers in control, outperforming the market over 6 months, trading above the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 6 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 0 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 0 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 6.9% above the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-09-01 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established uptrend, with the band below acting as the level that would have to give way. The band itself is thick, spanning 12.6% of the share price, which is taken to mean a barrier that has held for a while and takes effort to cross. | +6.9% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 38% above the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $215.81 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 190 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +38.1% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 4% above the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-08-05 (its 10-Q), so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $285.94 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 46 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +4.2% |
Price levels it has turned at before
CRL last closed at $298.00 on 2026-10-08. Since 2024-10-08 it has turned at 12 prices below its last close and 0 above; the 3 nearest below are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $237.24 | Support | 20.4% below the last close | turned there twice · 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-10 |
| $229.00 | Support | 23.2% below the last close | turned there three times · 2024-11-06 to 2026-01-22 |
| $201.48 | Support | 32.4% below the last close | turned there four times · 2024-10-18 to 2025-10-24 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
Its recent swings can be read as a five-part upward sequence — what Elliott-wave chartists call an impulse — now in leg 3 of five.
This labelling fails — stops being a possible reading at all — if it closes below $267.27.
This is one of several labellings that fit the same swings, so treat it as a reading rather than the reading. It was chosen from 2 labellings that survived the rules, counting shorter readings of the same bars.
On past moves of this shape the leg has usually ended somewhere between $357.08 and $412.58 — that is where it has tended to end if the count holds, not a forecast of where the price goes.
Alternate reading: The same swings also read as a three-part correction in leg C, which fails on a close below $267.27.
This reading has stood for 14 trading days, since 2026-09-21.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-10-08.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading above the 200-day moving average · in a strong, established uptrend (ADX) · Analyst price target recently RAISED · beating the market · Stretched far above its 200-day average (6+ daily ranges) · Trading above the Ichimoku cloud | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-10-08. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingBuy (1.67 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 15 analysts
- Mean price target$310.53 range $145.00 – $357.00; median $322.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-10-08. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for CRL
- Consensus EPS estimate$2.96 next reporting period, as of 2026-10-08
- Estimate change, 30 days+$0.00768 (+0.3%) from $2.95, on 2026-09-03, 35-day window
- Readings revised upward25% of 8 comparable readings
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Volatile demand environment in the Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA) segment","Risks associated with operational restructuring and site optimization initiatives","Dependence on sustained R&D spending from biopharmaceutical clients"]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of CRL's 10-Q filed 2026-08-05 against the prior one filed 2026-05-07.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states Cell Solutions was sold in May 2026 and describes it in past tense as having provided cells and blood components.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states certain European Discovery Services businesses were sold in May 2026.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states the contract development and manufacturing products and services (CDMO) business was sold in May 2026 and is no longer included in the Manufacturing segment description.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) adds 'in silico studies' to the list of DSA services.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) describes the DSA client spending environment as 'cautious, but improving' rather than just 'cautious'.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) reports DSA backlog increased slightly to $2.0 billion as of June 27, 2026 from $1.9 billion as of December 27, 2025.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) reports restructuring charges of $23.1 million and $54.6 million during the three and six months ended June 27, 2026.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states the PathoQuest acquisition was for $67.6 million and funded through a combination of available cash and proceeds from the Credit Facility.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states the PathoQuest business is reported as part of the Manufacturing reportable segment and references Note 2 – Acquisitions and Divestitures.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) states as of June 27, 2026, $105.0 million of deferred consideration for the Cambodian NHP Supplier remains to be paid and is recorded in Accrued liabilities.
- Removed:
- Older filing (2026-05-07) described Cell Solutions in present tense as part of the RMS segment and as providing primary cells and blood components.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) included 'as well as contract development and manufacturing products and services (CDMO)' in the Manufacturing segment description.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) reported DSA backlog held consistent at $1.9 billion as of March 28, 2026 and December 27, 2025.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) reported restructuring charges of $31.6 million during the three months ended March 28, 2026.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) described PathoQuest as a France-based biotechnology company providing viral and microbial safety testing services using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics, resulting in a 100% controlling interest, with a preliminary purchase price of €51.6 million (approximately $60.0 million) subject to closing adjustments.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) stated the Cambodian NHP Supplier business is reported partly in the DSA segment for NHPs vertically integrated into the DSA supply chain and partly in the RMS segment for NHPs sold to third party customers.
- Older filing (2026-05-07) included a 'Recent Divestitures' heading; the provided older text ends before its content.
- Reworded:
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) changes '52-weeks' to '52 weeks' in the Fiscal Quarters paragraph.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) removes the detail that DSA services include in vitro and in vivo studies but adds in silico, while older filing (2026-05-07) listed only in vitro and in vivo.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) describes the client spending environment as 'cautious, but improving' versus older filing (2026-05-07) 'cautious'.
- Newer filing (2026-08-05) revises the PathoQuest acquisition description, including purchase price and funding detail, and references Note 2 – Acquisitions and Divestitures.
- Notes:
- The newer MD&A text appears truncated in the Cambodian NHP Supplier paragraph after 'The acquisition wa'.
- The older MD&A text appears truncated after the 'Recent Divestitures' heading and includes only the heading 'The Comp' at the end.
- Some changes may reflect differences in the reporting period end dates (March 28, 2026 versus June 27, 2026) rather than new information.
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
1 open-market purchase and 18 open-market sales by insiders in the last 90 days, of which we have read Form 4 filings through 2026-10-04. The 5 days since 2026-10-04 have not been checked yet.
- Last 30 days · read to 2026-10-041 buy ($2974) · 1 sell ($302580) — 1 buying, 1 selling insiders
- Last 90 days · read to 2026-10-041 buy ($2974) · 18 sells ($26M) — 1 buying, 6 selling insiders
- Last 180 days · read to 2026-10-041 buy ($2974) · 19 sells ($43M) — 1 buying, 6 selling insiders
Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-10-05. Based on Form 4 filings read through 2026-10-04; anything filed since is not yet included.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about CRL's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
U.S. House trading disclosures
U.S. House members publicly disclose their own, their spouse's, and dependent children's stock transactions under the STOCK Act. We hold 5 matched disclosures for CRL from U.S. House Clerk Periodic Transaction Report filings.
U.S. House trading disclosures →Institutional ownership (13F)
4 institutional 13F filers reported holding CRL as of 2026-06-30 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 4
- Reported shares held 12,472,598
- Reported value $2,828,660,307
reported quarterly holdings change (2026-03-31 → 2026-06-30): 0 new, 2 increased, 2 decreased, 1 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Ask about CRL's institutional holders → See what each manager we track holds →
Short interest (FINRA)
CRL had 2,230,517 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
CRL had 4.67% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 2.75 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 2,230,517
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 4.67%
- Prior settlement (shares) 2,535,053
- Reported change -12.01%
- Days to cover (reported) 2.75
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-09-15 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- IQVIA (IQV)
- Labcorp (LH)
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)
- Eurofins Scientific
- WuXi AppTec
- ICON (ICLR)
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
Compare CRL vs…
Frequently asked questions
What does Charles River Laboratories (CRL) do?
Charles River Laboratories provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies, and academic institutions accelerate their research and drug development processes. The company operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions.
What sector is Charles River Laboratories (CRL) in?
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) is classified in the Health Care sector. Its industry is Contract Research Organization (CRO). It trades on NYSE.
Who are Charles River Laboratories's (CRL) competitors?
Notable peers of Charles River Laboratories (CRL) include IQVIA, Labcorp, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eurofins Scientific and WuXi AppTec. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Has there been recent U.S. House stock trading in CRL?
Yes — we hold 5 matched STOCK Act disclosures for CRL from U.S. House Clerk Periodic Transaction Report filings. These are legally-required disclosures (often filed 30–45 days after the trade), may belong to a U.S. House member, their spouse, or a dependent child, and are not an indicator of company performance or investment advice.
Is Charles River Laboratories (CRL) overbought or oversold right now?
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 57, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-10-08). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on CRL come from?
Fundamentals come from SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-03 for the rest; prices are market data, as of 2026-09-03; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-03 for the rest. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-10-08.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.