Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Shares Down 4.9% – Should You Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CRL shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $228.00 to $203.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup cut shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Baird R W lowered Charles River Laboratories International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic initiated 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, StockNews.com raised Charles River Laboratories International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Charles River Laboratories International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.00.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.36. 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 $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The medical research company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 10.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Laboratories International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 9.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRL. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 219.3% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. 98.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).