Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Coverage Initiated at Redburn Atlantic

Analysts at Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price target on the medical research company’s stock. Redburn Atlantic’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 22.10% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on CRL. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Charles River Laboratories International from $191.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $270.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.23.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

CRL opened at $193.84 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.81. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $161.65 and a 1-year high of $275.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 2,733.4% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 247,501 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $67,060,000 after buying an additional 238,766 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 825,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $170,615,000 after acquiring an additional 163,056 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 2nd quarter worth $33,053,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,251,618 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $258,559,000 after purchasing an additional 132,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 12.4% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,004,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $207,507,000 after purchasing an additional 110,725 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).