Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Share Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $165.87 and traded as high as $170.39. Charles River Associates shares last traded at $168.39, with a volume of 110,906 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Charles River Associates from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Associates presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $146.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $165.87.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.02 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $200.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.81 million. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 26.02% and a net margin of 6.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Associates will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.67%.

Insider Activity at Charles River Associates

In other news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.72, for a total transaction of $332,370.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,956,846.84. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in Charles River Associates in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates during the fourth quarter valued at about $401,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Charles River Associates by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Charles River Associates by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 6,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles River Associates Company Profile

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial and management advisory services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides expert analysis to support litigation, regulatory proceedings, and strategic decision-making. Its multidisciplinary teams draw on academic rigor and industry experience to deliver quantitative and qualitative insights tailored to clients’ needs.

The firm’s service offerings include competition economics, antitrust and merger analysis, intellectual property valuation and damages assessment, and risk management.