Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Lowered to “Underperform” Rating by CLSA

CLSA downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. CLSA currently has $164.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on CRL. Barclays decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.38.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $187.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $195.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.89. Charles River Laboratories International has a fifty-two week low of $176.48 and a fifty-two week high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical research company to buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total value of $1,430,930.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This trade represents a 34.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,467 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,638,290,000 after acquiring an additional 66,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $736,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,018 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after acquiring an additional 41,421 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $394,359,000 after acquiring an additional 31,359 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing).