Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Upgraded to Hold at CLSA

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was upgraded by equities researchers at CLSA from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $205.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock. CLSA’s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.32% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CRL. Citigroup lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Up 13.6 %

CRL stock opened at $214.25 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International has a twelve month low of $166.87 and a twelve month high of $275.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $11.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $193.34 and a 200 day moving average of $208.60.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Charles River Laboratories International

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).