CLSA Upgrades Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) to Hold

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at CLSA from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $205.00 price target on the medical research company's stock. CLSA's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.52% from the stock's previous close.

CRL has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $151.00 target price for the company. 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, UBS Group cut their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.93.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of CRL traded down $3.91 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $210.29. 845,105 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 615,909. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $193.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.60. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.38. 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 1 year low of $166.87 and a 1 year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The medical research company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.99 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.72 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.8% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 200,314 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $41,381,000 after buying an additional 5,375 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,840 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $15,401,000 after purchasing an additional 2,739 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the first quarter worth about $1,058,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 99.8% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,646 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% in the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $67,060,000 after purchasing an additional 238,766 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Laboratories International Company Profile

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).