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CRL or IQV or TMO
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Charles River Laboratories (CRL) vs. IQVIA (IQV) vs. Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- IQV leads year-to-date performance at over 30%, outpacing TMO's 19% and CRL's 17% gains amid life sciences sector volatility.
- TMO dominates with a $174 billion market cap and lower beta of 0.88, signaling greater stability compared to IQV (beta 1.18) and CRL (beta 1.45).
- Recent strategic moves include TMO's $1.1 billion sale of its microbiology unit and new bioprocess center, while CRL launched fertility services.
- Forward P/E ratios suggest value in CRL (14.9) and IQV (12.4), versus TMO's higher 25.8 trailing multiple.
- All three stocks trade well below 52-week highs, reflecting broader research funding pressures but with analyst upside potential exceeding 20% for each.
Introduction
Charles River Laboratories (CRL), IQVIA (IQV), and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) operate at the intersection of life sciences and healthcare, providing essential services and tools for drug discovery, clinical trials, and biomanufacturing. This stock comparison is particularly relevant for investors tracking biopharma outsourcing trends, amid fluctuating research budgets and advancements in AI-driven analytics. Traders seeking exposure to contract research organizations (CROs) and scientific instrumentation will find insights into relative performance, valuation, and market positioning in the current environment.
CRL Overview and Recent Performance
Charles River Laboratories (CRL) is a leading CRO specializing in preclinical drug discovery, safety assessment, and manufacturing support for biopharmaceuticals. In recent market activity, CRL shares have hovered around $166, down significantly from the 52-week high of $229 but up 17% year-to-date. Sentiment has been tempered by softer venture capital funding in biotech and anticipated EPS decline in upcoming quarterly results, though new offerings like rat in vitro fertility services highlight innovation in toxicology. Analysts view it as a value play with a forward P/E of 14.9 and price targets implying over 20% upside.
IQV Overview and Recent Performance
IQVIA Holdings (IQV) delivers technology-enabled research, real-world evidence, and clinical services to the life sciences industry. Shares trade near $158, retreating from a 52-week high of $247 but boasting the strongest year-to-date gain at 30% among peers. Recent weeks have seen focus on AI integrations, including a launch with NVIDIA, though shares dipped post-earnings due to AI competition concerns. Upcoming results and robust profitability (8.3% margins) support positive sentiment, with forward P/E at 12.4 and targets around $230 signaling substantial upside potential.
TMO Overview and Recent Performance
Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) is a global leader in scientific instruments, reagents, and biopharma services. Trading around $469, well off the 52-week peak of $644, the stock has risen 19% year-to-date. Recent developments include a $1.1 billion divestiture of its microbiology business to Astorg and the opening of a flagship U.S. bioprocess design center to boost therapy production. These moves, alongside solid Q1 revenue beats, have bolstered stability, reflected in a trailing P/E of 25.8 and strong balance sheet metrics.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
In business models, CRL focuses on early-stage preclinical CRO services, IQV on mid-to-late stage clinical data analytics, and TMO on hardware and consumables—exposing each to biopharma R&D cycles differently. Growth drivers include outsourcing demand, with IQV benefiting from AI-enhanced evidence generation and TMO from bioprocessing expansions. Recent momentum favors IQV's 30% YTD surge, versus CRL's relative lag amid funding headwinds. Risk factors encompass research budget cuts, with CRL's higher beta amplifying volatility. Valuation sensitivity shows CRL and IQV as cheaper on forward multiples, while TMO trades at a premium for scale. Market sentiment tilts toward TMO's strategic portfolio refinement and IQV's tech edge over CRL's service pressures.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron's AI models currently lean toward IQV for its superior recent momentum, attractive forward valuation, and alignment with data/AI catalysts in life sciences. While TMO offers stability and CRL value, IQV's trend consistency and relative positioning suggest higher probability of outperformance in the near term, based on observable patterns.
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 disclaimer. Disclaimers and Limitations
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 whileIQV’s FA Score has 0 green FA rating(s), and TMO’s FA Score reflects 1 green FA rating(s).
- CRL’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- IQV’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- TMO’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 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 IQV’s TA Score has 6 bullish TA indicator(s), and TMO’s TA Score reflects 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- CRL’s TA Score: 7 bullish, 3 bearish.
- IQV’s TA Score: 6 bullish, 3 bearish.
- TMO’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 7 bearish.
Price Growth
CRL (@Medical Specialties) experienced а +0.35% price change this week, while IQV (@Medical Specialties) price change was +0.68% , and TMO (@Medical Specialties) price fluctuated -4.00% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Medical Specialties industry was -3.28%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +13.41%, and the average quarterly price growth was -7.34%.
Reported Earning Dates
CRL is expected to report earnings on Aug 12, 2026.
IQV is expected to report earnings on Jul 28, 2026.
TMO is expected to report earnings on Jul 29, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Medical Specialties (-3.28% 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 | IQV | TMO | |
| Capitalization | 8.74B | 30.6B | 176B |
| EBITDA | 291M | 3.52B | 11.7B |
| Gain YTD | -9.094 | -18.615 | -18.325 |
| P/E Ratio | 577.05 | 22.79 | 25.99 |
| Revenue | 4.03B | 16.6B | 45.2B |
| Total Cash | 192M | 2.1B | 3.26B |
| Total Debt | 3.06B | 16.1B | 43.2B |
CRL | IQV | TMO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 10 | 24 | 35 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 91 Overvalued | 61 Fair valued | 12 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 100 | 100 | 94 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 94 | 43 | 62 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 49 | 50 | 57 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 1 | 39 | 40 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | n/a | 75 | 65 |
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.
TMO's Valuation (12) in the Medical Specialties industry is somewhat better than the same rating for IQV (61) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is significantly better than the same rating for CRL (91) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry. This means that TMO's stock grew somewhat faster than IQV’s and significantly faster than CRL’s over the last 12 months.
TMO's Profit vs Risk Rating (94) in the Medical Specialties industry is in the same range as IQV (100) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is in the same range as CRL (100) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry. This means that TMO's stock grew similarly to IQV’s and similarly to CRL’s over the last 12 months.
IQV's SMR Rating (43) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry is in the same range as TMO (62) in the Medical Specialties industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for CRL (94) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry. This means that IQV's stock grew similarly to TMO’s and somewhat faster than CRL’s over the last 12 months.
CRL's Price Growth Rating (49) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is in the same range as IQV (50) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is in the same range as TMO (57) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that CRL's stock grew similarly to IQV’s and similarly to TMO’s over the last 12 months.
CRL's P/E Growth Rating (1) in the Miscellaneous Commercial Services industry is somewhat better than the same rating for IQV (39) in the Servicestothe Health Industry industry, and is somewhat better than the same rating for TMO (40) in the Medical Specialties industry. This means that CRL's stock grew somewhat faster than IQV’s and somewhat faster than TMO’s over the last 12 months.
| CRL | IQV | TMO | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 84% | N/A | 3 days ago 47% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 70% | 3 days ago 67% | 3 days ago 52% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 65% | 3 days ago 66% | 3 days ago 62% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 73% | 3 days ago 57% | 3 days ago 68% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 68% | 3 days ago 60% | 3 days ago 61% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 73% | 3 days ago 62% | 3 days ago 62% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 69% | 4 days ago 58% | 7 days ago 62% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 21 days ago 70% | 13 days ago 65% | 5 days ago 63% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 71% | 3 days ago 59% | 3 days ago 52% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 60% | 3 days ago 53% | 3 days ago 60% |
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CRL and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, CRL has been closely correlated with IQV. These tickers have moved in lockstep 76% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if CRL jumps, then IQV could also see price increases.
TMO and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, TMO has been closely correlated with A. These tickers have moved in lockstep 80% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if TMO jumps, then A could also see price increases.