Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) was downgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the medical research company’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $250.00. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.37% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CRL. StockNews.com raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Baird R W lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Charles River Laboratories International from $265.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Charles River Laboratories International from $230.00 to $210.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $220.25.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRL opened at $189.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.36. Charles River Laboratories International has a 12 month low of $161.65 and a 12 month high of $275.00.

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 131 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the first quarter worth $41,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1,072.7% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 258 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Charles River Laboratories International by 362.5% in the first quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 259 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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).