Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL) Cut to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $170.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $188.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Charles River Laboratories International from $175.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen upgraded shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Charles River Laboratories International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.85.

Charles River Laboratories International Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CRL traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $149.91. The stock had a trading volume of 814,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,022,934. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -230.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 1.48. Charles River Laboratories International has a 1-year low of $91.86 and a 1-year high of $254.15.

Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The medical research company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $984.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $942.34 million. Charles River Laboratories International had a positive return on equity of 15.19% and a negative net margin of 0.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.27 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Charles River Laboratories International will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Laboratories International

In other news, EVP Joseph W. Laplume sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.41, for a total value of $72,705.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,513 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,837,385.33. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Laboratories International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 60,497 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 5.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,285,012 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $644,980,000 after purchasing an additional 208,586 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 8.0% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,950,273 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $293,555,000 after purchasing an additional 144,732 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,233,211 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $227,042,000 after purchasing an additional 14,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Charles River Laboratories International by 7.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,108,358 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $166,830,000 after purchasing an additional 74,178 shares in the last quarter. 98.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).