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If You Invested $1000 in CRA International a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in CRA International (CRAI - Free Report) 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.

They provide 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 in relation to 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 set up enables Charles River to bring experts from all fields under one platform. The diversification in 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. The company operates in one business segment.

Bottom Line

Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For CRA International, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in June 2014 would be worth $8,081.92, or a 708.19% gain, as of June 5, 2024. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

The S&P 500 rose 174.46% and the price of gold increased 78.41% over the same time frame in comparison.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for CRAI.

CRA International enjoys the benefits of a diversified business, with service offerings across areas of functional expertise, client base and geographical regions. Proficiency in multiple industries allows the company to serve varying client needs and bring innovation to its offerings. It has a consistent record of returning value to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. Partly due to these positives, shares have risen 88.3% in the past year. On the flip side, higher talent costs due to a competitive talent market act as major challenge. The industry is labor intensive and heavily dependent on foreign talent. The nature of business makes Charles River vulnerable to foreign exchange risk.

Shares have gained 11.64% over the past four weeks and there have been 4 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2024 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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