Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $147.69 and last traded at $148.88, with a volume of 99591 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $155.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $185.00 target price (down previously from $250.00) on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research note on Friday, January 17th. William Blair downgraded Charles River Laboratories International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $188.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $177.00 to $173.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.77.

Charles River Laboratories International Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 988.96, a PEG ratio of 4.54 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $164.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.60.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The medical research company reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $983.63 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 0.52% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, CEO James C. Foster acquired 6,075 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $165.01 per share, with a total value of $1,002,435.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 183,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,302,271.39. This represents a 3.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 4,400 shares of Charles River Laboratories International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.50, for a total value of $715,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,252,112.50. This represents a 18.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,158,926 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,136,938,000 after acquiring an additional 60,497 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,076,426 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $752,508,000 after purchasing an additional 335,658 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,130,279 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $419,601,000 after purchasing an additional 41,421 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,808,002 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $330,231,000 after purchasing an additional 47,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $227,042,000 after buying an additional 14,787 shares during the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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).