CLSA Downgrades Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Underperform

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at CLSA from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $164.00 price target on the medical research company's stock. CLSA's price target would indicate a potential downside of 12.53% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. StockNews.com cut Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.38.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of CRL stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $187.50. 777,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 625,264. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52-week low of $176.48 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The stock has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $195.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.19.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $975.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. Charles River Laboratories International's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.19 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 buy up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other Charles River Laboratories International news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.12, for a total transaction of $1,430,930.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,386 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,676,862.32. This represents a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,153.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.9% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 327 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 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).