The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Price Target to $250.00

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) had its price target decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $290.00 to $250.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the medical research company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CRL. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Charles River Laboratories International in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They issued a neutral rating and a $235.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $260.00 to $228.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $232.79.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Performance

Shares of CRL opened at $200.97 on Thursday. Charles River Laboratories International has a one year low of $161.65 and a one year high of $275.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $214.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.37.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical research company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.22. Charles River Laboratories International had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $997.24 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Charles River Laboratories International will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Laboratories International declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 9.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Charles River Laboratories International during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,455,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 20.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 561,075 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $115,912,000 after acquiring an additional 93,682 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the second quarter worth $122,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International in the second quarter worth $434,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles River Laboratories International by 3.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 319,177 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $65,936,000 after acquiring an additional 11,514 shares during the last quarter. 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).