William Blair Upgrades Charles River Labs (CRL) to Outperform

William Blair analyst Matt Larew upgraded Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) from Market Perform to Outperform.

The analyst comments "Specific to pharma outsourcing, while we do not expect a sudden inflection in spending to close the year, we do expect the removal of these overhangs to lead to more investor interest and a more robust funding environment and ultimately elevated research and development spend from both small biotechs and large pharma in 2026 and 2027. On the back of this more constructive overall environment, we believe now is the time to revisit the CRO space in particular, where several names continue to trade at significant discounts relative to their long-term averages. From our CRO coverage, we continue to believe IQVIA is the best opportunity at present given its more conservative outlook for the back half of this year and 2026, and we are also upgrading Charles River to Outperform on the basis that the removal of these key overhangs clears the way for a more immediate and pronounced recovery in preclinical spend."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Charles River Labs click here. For more ratings news on Charles River Labs click here.

Shares of Charles River Labs closed at $177.33 yesterday.

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