NEW YORK-- Shares of Charles River Laboratories International Inc., maker of research products for drug developers, jumped Thursday after the company backed its 2006 financial forecast and issued guidance for 2007.
The stock gained $2.34, or 5.6 percent, to reach $44.23 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading. Shares have traded between $33.73 and $51.50 over the last 52 weeks.
Excluding special charges, the company expects profit between $2.15 and $2.21 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect profit of $2.17 per share. The company sees sales rising between 6 percent and 8 percent from last year, hitting a range of $1.19 billion to $1.21 billion.
A large part of the boost came from the company's 2007 guidance between $2.43 and $2.53 per share, excluding a 32-cent charge, marking a 15 percent increase. Analysts expect profit of $2.47 per share.
"After two consecutive quarters of beating street estimates, the strength of tonight's guidance marks another data point that the company is better performing today than it was a year ago," wrote Lehman Brothers analyst Douglas D. Tsao, in a note to investors late Wednesday.
The guidance implies a smooth transition into the company's new preclinical development facilities, he wrote, reaffirming a "Overweight" rating with a $48 price target.
Goldman Sachs analyst Alejandro Alvarez said the guidance was largely in line with his expectations, in an investor note. He maintained a "Neutral" rating on the stock.
Jefferies & Company analyst David Windley reaffirmed a "Hold" rating with a $42 price target, citing projected revenue growth in the company's preclinical division.
Most all strains of gentically engineered rodents originated from CRL. Cancer research would not be where it is today without CRL.
CRL is currently trading up 2.15 cents at 44.04 in afternoon trading.
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