ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Growth Strategy” second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities significantly rallied in the second quarter, with the S&P 500 returning 10.9%. As the risk-on sentiment took hold, the benchmark Russell Midcap Growth Index advanced a market-leading 18.2%. Growth stocks led across market caps, outperforming their value counterparts. In this environment, the strategy outperformed the benchmark, driven by strong performance from the “mid cap plus” segment that the Strategy focuses on and solid stock selection in IT, industrials, and financials. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.
In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL). Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) offers drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services that operate through Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing) segments. The one-month return of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) was 5.00%, and its shares gained 26.44% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On September 16, 2025, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) stock closed at $151.60 per share, with a market capitalization of $7.461 billion.
ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“The Strategy closed out of MongoDB and Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) to focus on higher-conviction growth names. For Charles River, a challenging biotech funding environment, risks of disruption from U.S. policy shifts and spending reprioritization by large pharmaceutical clients have reduced its earnings visibility. Additionally, potential changes to FDA guidelines on animal testing represent a material regulatory overhang that could weigh on sentiment and future revenue streams. While the company has recently attracted activist interest, we think the stock already reflects increased optimism related to the potential for a strategic transaction.”
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 49 hedge fund portfolios held Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) at the end of the second quarter, compared to 39 in the previous quarter. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) reported revenue of $1.03 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a 0.6% increase from Q2 2024. While we acknowledge the potential of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
