Sell Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) for 37% Gain

Sell Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL). The stock is up 37% since my January 2016 recommendation but had been up as much as 60% before reporting earnings last week.

I still love Charles River’s business model of providing outsourced clinical research services for biotech and drug companies. However, the stock’s estimates have not risen as quickly as its stock price, so when the company did not raise estimates materially for the next quarter, the stock cratered.

Charles River was trading at $119 prior to the earnings release, well above my $102 target. I’ve learned my lesson and will be more critical of stocks trading at elevated levels without any justification.

I’ll be watching this stock for a future entry point as its broad portfolio of services across the spectrum of drug development is unique and hard to replicate.

 

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