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CRL vs MEDP
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Charles River Laboratories (CRL) vs. Medpace Holdings (MEDP) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Both CRL and MEDP operate in the life sciences services sector, with CRL focusing on preclinical drug discovery and safety testing, while MEDP specializes in clinical trial management.
- CRL shares have gained momentum in recent weeks following divestitures and leadership changes, with year-to-date performance up approximately 7%.
- MEDP reported a strong Q4 2025 earnings beat but faced a sharp pullback of about 27% over the past month amid broader market pressures.
- Analysts maintain an overweight rating on CRL with a target price around $199, signaling potential upside from current levels.
- Both stocks are poised ahead of upcoming quarterly earnings, with MEDP reporting first and CRL to follow, highlighting sector recovery in biotech funding.
- Tickeron's AI trading bots offer strategies across various sectors, though none currently trend on these tickers, providing tools for diversified approaches.
Introduction
In the competitive landscape of life sciences services, CRL and MEDP stand out as key players supporting pharmaceutical and biotech innovation. This stock comparison examines their business models, recent market performance, and positioning amid recovering biotech funding and R&D activity. Traders seeking exposure to preclinical and clinical research services, as well as investors tracking relative performance in healthcare outsourcing, will find insights into momentum, risks, and sentiment shifts valuable for informed decision-making.
CRL Overview and Recent Performance
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) is a leading provider of drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety assessment services worldwide. Its segments include research models, discovery and safety assessment, and manufacturing solutions, serving biopharma clients through rodents, in vivo testing, and cell therapy production.
In recent market activity, CRL shares have exhibited resilience, climbing about 5.8% following announcements of unit divestitures and leadership team refresh. This positive sentiment stems from strategic streamlining, including the sale of drug discovery assets to IQVIA in late February, aimed at focusing core operations. Year-to-date gains hover around 7%, with the stock trading within its 52-week range amid anticipation for Q1 2026 earnings on May 7. Analysts project a year-over-year EPS decline but note benefits from preclinical demand recovery. Elevated beta (1.62) reflects sector volatility, yet overweight ratings underscore confidence in long-term positioning.
MEDP Overview and Recent Performance
Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP) operates as a full-service contract research organization (CRO), managing clinical development from Phase I to IV trials for biotech, pharma, and device firms globally.
Recent performance for MEDP has been mixed, with shares surging 6.3% post-Q4 2025 earnings beat in February—EPS of $4.67 exceeding estimates—before a notable 27% pullback over the ensuing month. This correction follows strong revenue outperformance against peers, influenced by broader market dynamics in healthcare services. With Q1 2026 results due April 22, investor focus remains on sustained backlog growth and trial awards. Analyst sentiment leans buy, with targets suggesting upside potential, though heightened volatility underscores risks tied to client pipeline fluctuations.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
CRL and MEDP both thrive on biopharma R&D outsourcing but differ in focus: CRL's preclinical breadth offers diversified revenue from models and manufacturing, contrasting MEDP's clinical-stage specialization, which ties closely to late-stage trial volumes.
Growth drivers include biotech funding rebound for CRL and backlog expansion for MEDP. Recent momentum favors CRL with gains from restructuring, while MEDP contends with post-earnings volatility. Risk factors encompass R&D budget cuts (affecting both), with CRL's higher beta amplifying swings. Sector exposure overlaps in healthcare but CRL edges in stability. Market sentiment tilts positive for both, though CRL's overweight consensus signals stronger near-term conviction.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI analysis would likely favor CRL in the current environment, given its trend consistency, recent catalysts like divestitures enhancing focus, and relative stability versus MEDP's pullback. Observable factors such as analyst overweight ratings and positioning ahead of earnings suggest higher probability of outperformance, though both benefit from sector tailwinds.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is CRL is a StrongBuy and MEDP is a Buy.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
CRL’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green whileMEDP’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- CRL’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- MEDP’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
CRL’s TA Score shows that 7 TA indicator(s) are bullish while MEDP’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CRL’s TA Score: 7 bullish, 3 bearish.
- MEDP’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
CRL (@Medical Specialties) experienced а +0.98% price change this week, while MEDP (@Medical Specialties) price change was +2.58% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Medical Specialties industry was +7.70%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +8.34%, and the average quarterly price growth was +1.99%.
Reported Earning Dates
CRL is expected to report earnings on Aug 12, 2026.
MEDP is expected to report earnings on Jul 22, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Medical Specialties (+7.70% weekly)Medical specialties are companies that make equipment used by the health care industry. Equipment manufactured and distributed by these companies include dialysis machines, blood analysis equipment, surgical equipment, dental instruments, and diagnostic tools, among other items. Large companies typically aim to produce and distribute high-quality products across a broad market spectrum. Smaller firms are more likely to specialize in a particular market segment. Due to the industry’s close association with medical treatments, they typically have low sensitivity to macroeconomic fluctuations. Within this industry, Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Plc and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are some of the companies with multi-billion market capitalizations in the U.S. stock markets.
| CRL | MEDP | CRL / MEDP | |
| Capitalization | 9.74B | 14.6B | 67% |
| EBITDA | 291M | 591M | 49% |
| Gain YTD | -6.457 | -15.689 | 41% |
| P/E Ratio | 577.05 | 28.67 | 2,013% |
| Revenue | 4.03B | 2.68B | 150% |
| Total Cash | 192M | 653M | 29% |
| Total Debt | 3.06B | 122M | 2,505% |
CRL | MEDP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 85 | 79 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 88 Overvalued | 77 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 37 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 94 | 15 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 46 | 50 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 1 | 32 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | n/a | 85 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
MEDP's Valuation (77) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is in the same range as CRL (88). This means that MEDP’s stock grew similarly to CRL’s over the last 12 months.
MEDP's Profit vs Risk Rating (37) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is somewhat better than the same rating for CRL (100). This means that MEDP’s stock grew somewhat faster than CRL’s over the last 12 months.
MEDP's SMR Rating (15) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is significantly better than the same rating for CRL (94). This means that MEDP’s stock grew significantly faster than CRL’s over the last 12 months.
CRL's Price Growth Rating (46) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is in the same range as MEDP (50). This means that CRL’s stock grew similarly to MEDP’s over the last 12 months.
CRL's P/E Growth Rating (1) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is in the same range as MEDP (32). This means that CRL’s stock grew similarly to MEDP’s over the last 12 months.
| CRL | MEDP | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 74% | 2 days ago 72% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 71% | 2 days ago 65% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 82% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 71% | N/A |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 74% | 2 days ago 74% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 75% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 16 days ago 69% | 16 days ago 74% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 71% | 8 days ago 63% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 75% | 2 days ago 73% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 74% |
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MEDP and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, MEDP has been loosely correlated with IQV. These tickers have moved in lockstep 65% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if MEDP jumps, then IQV could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To MEDP | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDP | 100% | +3.92% | ||
| IQV - MEDP | 65% Loosely correlated | +2.07% | ||
| CRL - MEDP | 52% Loosely correlated | +2.78% | ||
| TMO - MEDP | 46% Loosely correlated | +1.15% | ||
| BRKR - MEDP | 43% Loosely correlated | -2.51% | ||
| RVTY - MEDP | 39% Loosely correlated | +0.87% | ||
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