Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Downgraded to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

CRL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Argus reiterated a hold rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $240.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $232.79.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

Charles River Laboratories International stock opened at $200.97 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $214.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $161.65 and a one year high of $275.00.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.22. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $997.24 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, August 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to repurchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 209 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 220 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 281 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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).