CLSA Begins Coverage on Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL)

CLSA initiated coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "underperform" rating and a $167.00 price target on the medical research company's stock. CLSA's price target would indicate a potential downside of 10.52% from the stock's current price.

CRL has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock traded up $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $186.63. 606,076 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 599,912. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $196.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.54. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 14.96%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,046,467 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,638,290,000 after buying an additional 66,161 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,908,989 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $394,359,000 after buying an additional 31,359 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,760,781 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $346,821,000 after buying an additional 509,163 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,513,138 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $409,985,000 after buying an additional 45,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 1,182,268 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $320,336,000 after buying an additional 26,892 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is 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).