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

Stock analysts at CLSA began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating and a $167.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. CLSA’s target price indicates a potential downside of 10.15% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on CRL. Barclays dropped 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 report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $250.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price target for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL stock opened at $185.87 on Wednesday. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12-month low of $161.65 and a 12-month high of $275.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. Charles River Laboratories International had a return on equity of 14.96% and a net margin of 10.83%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. Analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverwater Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,643 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the third quarter worth approximately $83,800,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.1% in the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,988 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 249,037 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $49,053,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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).