StockNews.com Downgrades Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Hold

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.33.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

CRL stock traded down $2.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.83. The stock had a trading volume of 718,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 597,642. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $217.51.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 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).