Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Earns Underperform Rating from Analysts at CLSA

CLSA started coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an underperform rating and a $167.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $182.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $195.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.33. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00.

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

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.6% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,072.7% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 258 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 11.4% in the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,196,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.9% in the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 54,316 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $14,717,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by 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).