Bank of America Lowers Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Neutral

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $215.00 target price on the medical research company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $250.00. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.77% from the stock’s previous close.

CRL has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays lowered 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 research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Baird R W lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.25.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CRL opened at $194.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1 year low of $161.65 and a 1 year high of $275.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $206.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.28.

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

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire 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.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 362.5% during the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,072.7% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 258 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).