Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) Shares Acquired by Armistice Capital LLC

Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) by 70.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,071 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,189 shares during the quarter. Armistice Capital LLC owned about 0.23% of Charles River Laboratories International worth $24,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 114.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,358 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,127 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,681 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,234,000 after buying an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 27,824 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,578,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Qtron Investments LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 3.8 %

CRL stock opened at $192.90 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.65 and a 52-week high of $275.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $207.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.38. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to purchase up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $265.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $227.55.

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).