For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in CRA International (CRAI) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to CRAI for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
CRA International's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at CRA International's main business drivers.
Headquartered in Boston, MA, Charles River Associates is one of the leading global consulting firms. The company functions through a global network of coordinated offices across North America and Europe. It was founded in 1965.
Charles River is engaged in providing economic, financial and management consulting services. The company combines advanced analytic techniques with in-depth industry knowledge to solve complex problems for its wide range of clients.
Charles River is well-equipped with highly educated employee consultants including economists, business professionals, engineers and other industry leaders. These consultants blend economic and financial analysis with expertise in litigation and regulatory support, business strategy and planning, market and demand forecasting, policy analysis, and engineering and technology strategy.
It provides original authoritative advice to support various customer activities. These include high-priority matters such as multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, product introductions, major capital investment decisions and complex litigation, the results of which often have significant consequences for the parties involved.
Charles River offers consulting services to corporate clients and attorneys in a wide range of litigation and regulatory proceedings. The company also serves law firms, businesses and government agencies services with class certification, damages analysis, expert reports and testimony, regulatory analysis, strategy development, valuation of tangible and intangible assets, risk management, and transaction support.
Charles River has a diversified business with service offerings across areas of functional expertise, client base and geographical regions. Exposure to multiple industries helps the company meet varying client needs and offer innovative services. This multidisciplinary setup enables Charles River to bring experts from all fields under one platform. Diversifying business helps reduce the company’s dependence on any specific market, industry or geographic area.
The company offers consulting services in two broad areas: litigation, regulatory and financial consulting, and management consulting.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in CRA International ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in May 2015 would be worth $6,559.77, or a 555.98% gain, as of May 28, 2025. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
The S&P 500 rose 176.90% and the price of gold increased 167.06% over the same time frame in comparison.
Analysts are anticipating more upside for CRAI.
CRAI has a highly qualified employee base, which helps it attract new clients. Collaborations with academic experts further enhance its expertise and help it build solid client relationships. Presence across North America and Europe is encouraging because these markets cater to diverse industries, thus representing attractive growth opportunities. It also returns value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, driving the 9.6% surge in share prices over the past year. However, while the company does streamline operations to improve efficiency, the intense competition, rising talent costs and dependence on foreign professionals make life difficult. A significant short-term debt, limited cash reserves and a declining current ratio point to liquidity concerns. Overall, we have a Neutral recommendation on the stock.
Shares have gained 17.05% over the past four weeks and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2025 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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Charles River Associates (CRAI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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