Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Shares Down 4.9% – What’s Next?

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) shares traded down 4.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $180.75 and last traded at $185.43. 783,084 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 597,830 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI cut Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their target price for the company from $225.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 note on Thursday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Monday, October 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $151.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $196.63 and its 200 day moving average is $212.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Charles River Laboratories International during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1,072.7% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 258 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.91% of the company’s stock.

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).