Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $175.61 and last traded at $178.38, with a volume of 1867915 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $190.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on CRL. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. CLSA downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $164.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 2.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $193.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 10.44%. The firm 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 company earned $2.72 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 6,621 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,676,862.32. This trade represents a 34.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 135,927.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,740,768 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $736,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738,018 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $346,821,000 after purchasing an additional 509,163 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $170,615,000 after purchasing an additional 163,056 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,053,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $207,507,000 after buying an additional 110,725 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.91% of the company's stock.

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).