AZN vs. CRL: AstraZeneca vs. Charles River Laboratories Stock Comparison

Company Profile

AstraZeneca (AZN) and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but AZN is classified in Pharmaceuticals while CRL is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) trades as ordinary local shares, while AstraZeneca (AZN) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) has an aggressive beta of 1.33, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while AstraZeneca (AZN) is defensive at 0.22 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

AstraZeneca (AZN) at 22.57% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.27% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for AZN.

AstraZeneca (AZN) at 17.68% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.01%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

Both AstraZeneca (AZN) at 29.57% and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 23.42% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

AstraZeneca (AZN) at 8.63% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at -0.85% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

AstraZeneca (AZN) at 45.33% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at -1,555.00% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both AstraZeneca (AZN) at 1.01 and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 1.41 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Both AstraZeneca (AZN) at 0.66 and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 0.87 lean more heavily on debt funding than most peers, landing in the higher-leverage quartile of their industries.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile AstraZeneca (AZN) reports a yield of 1.73%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Charles River Laboratories (CRL) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile AstraZeneca (AZN) reports a payout of 45.38%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

AstraZeneca (AZN) at 26.37 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 366.87 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for CRL’s trailing earnings.

On P/S ratio, both AstraZeneca (AZN) at 4.63 and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 4.07 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

On P/B ratio, both AstraZeneca (AZN) at 5.59 and Charles River Laboratories (CRL) at 5.01 are valued close to their industries’ norm against book — neither stands out from peers.

Valuation Metrics