Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

CRL has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Mizuho initiated coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $235.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI cut their target price 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. Argus reiterated a hold rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $228.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $232.79.

Charles River Laboratories International Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of CRL traded down $1.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $200.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,060,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,319. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Charles River Laboratories International has a 52 week low of $161.65 and a 52 week high of $275.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $215.15 and a 200 day moving average of $231.26. The company has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.16%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRL. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 98.6% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 14,094 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,333,000 after purchasing an additional 6,997 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,360,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,256.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,108 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,335,000 after acquiring an additional 13,068 shares during the period. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 944 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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).