Core Insights - The Madison Small Cap Fund experienced a challenging third quarter in 2025, with a decline of 1.3%, underperforming its benchmarks due to stock selection and a speculative market environment [1] Company Analysis: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) - Charles River Laboratories operates in the drug discovery and development outsourcing sector, providing a range of services including drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing [2] - The stock of Charles River Laboratories saw a one-month return of -14.15% and a 52-week decline of 16.72%, closing at $167.64 with a market capitalization of $8.25 billion on November 21, 2025 [2] - The Madison Small Cap Fund initiated a position in Charles River Laboratories in Q3 2025, highlighting its high-quality service offerings and strong operating margins of 20% or more [3] - Despite recent challenges in the drug development space, Charles River Laboratories has shown a 12% compound annual growth rate over the past decade, indicating resilience [3] - The management team is experienced, and the company is expected to achieve earnings power of approximately $15 by 2028, with a conservative intrinsic value estimate of $228 based on a sum of the parts analysis at ~12x EBITDA [3] - Revenue growth is anticipated at 4% from 2024 to 2028, supported by restructuring and cost management efforts [3]

Core Insights - Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) is a contract research organization with a market cap of approximately $8 billion, providing drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services [1] Financial Performance - CRL's stock has underperformed the broader market, declining 13.7% over the past 52 weeks and 12.2% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 Index gained 10.5% over the same period [2] - The company's stock prices dropped 5.7% following the release of its Q3 results, where the topline dipped 49 basis points year-over-year to $1 billion, but exceeded expectations by 2.1% [4] - Adjusted EPS for Q3 declined 6.2% year-over-year to $2.43, surpassing consensus estimates by 4.7% [4] - For the full fiscal 2025, analysts expect CRL to deliver an adjusted EPS of $10.21, down 1.1% year-over-year [5] Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Among 16 analysts covering CRL, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy," with 10 "Strong Buys" and six "Holds" [5] - Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky Goldwasser maintained an "Equal-Weight" rating and raised the price target from $170 to $185, with a mean price target of $192.93 representing a 19% premium to current price levels [7] - The street-high target of $211 suggests a notable 30.2% upside potential [7]

Core Insights - Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) is valued at a market cap of $9.2 billion and provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services, partnering with various institutions to accelerate research and drug development [1] Financial Performance - Analysts expect CRL to report a profit of $2.32 per share for fiscal Q3 2025, a decrease of 10.4% from $2.59 per share in the same quarter last year [2] - For fiscal 2025, CRL is projected to report a profit of $10.17 per share, down 1.5% from $10.32 per share in fiscal 2024, but is expected to rebound to $10.71 per share in fiscal 2026, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 5.3% [3] Stock Performance - Over the past 52 weeks, CRL has gained marginally, underperforming the S&P 500 Index's 14.5% increase but outperforming the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund's 3.4% decline [4] Recent Earnings and Guidance - Following its Q2 earnings release, CRL's shares fell 10.3% despite better-than-expected results, with revenue of $1 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.12 exceeding consensus estimates [5] - The modest revenue growth was attributed to favorable foreign currency movements, while organic revenue declined due to weakness in the Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA) segment [5] - In light of its Q2 results and expectations for a gradual recovery in the DSA segment, CRL raised its fiscal 2025 guidance, projecting adjusted EPS between $9.90 and $10.30, with revenue expected to decline modestly by 0.5% to 2.5% [6]

Core Insights - ClearBridge Investments reported a significant rally in US equities during Q2 2025, with the S&P 500 returning 10.9% and the Russell Midcap Growth Index advancing 18.2% [1] - The ClearBridge Growth Strategy outperformed its benchmark, driven by strong performance in the "mid cap plus" segment and solid stock selection in IT, industrials, and financials [1] Company Overview: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) - Charles River Laboratories provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services through various segments [2] - The stock experienced a one-month return of 5.00% and a 52-week gain of 26.44%, closing at $151.60 with a market capitalization of $7.461 billion on September 16, 2025 [2] Investment Strategy and Performance - ClearBridge Growth Strategy closed positions in MongoDB and Charles River Laboratories to focus on higher-conviction growth names due to a challenging biotech funding environment and regulatory risks [3] - The company reported revenue of $1.03 billion in Q2 2025, reflecting a 0.6% increase from Q2 2024 [4] - Despite the potential of Charles River Laboratories, the company is not among the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds, with 49 hedge fund portfolios holding the stock at the end of Q2 2025, up from 39 in the previous quarter [4]

The establishment of our US presence and the appointment of Dr. Ben Wolf as CMO mark our next chapter as we continue progressing our work to transform drug design and discovery with AI.Read more from Ben here: https://t.co/UNfAVkKnSM https://t.co/NpSIR0CQOx ...