Here’s Why This Strategy Decided to Exit Charles River Laboratories (CRL)

Riverwater Partners, an investment management company, released its 'Sustainable Value Strategy' Q2 2026 investor letter. The letter can be downloaded here . Small-cap stocks achieved their best first-half performance since 1991, with the Russell 2500 Value Index rising 17%, driven by the technology sector. The Sustainable Value Strategy underperformed its benchmark in the second quarter. The shortfall was driven almost entirely by stock selection, particularly the absence of SanDisk (SNDK), which rose approximately 720% year to date and contributed an estimated 6% of the Russell 2500 Value Index's 2026 return. Technology became the strategy's largest overweight at 17%, largely because index reconstitution sharply reduced the benchmark's technology allocation. Looking ahead to 2026, the outlook for small-cap equities remains constructive due to improving monetary conditions and attractive valuations, despite a lack of anticipated rotation toward higher-quality businesses. The firm remains committed to disciplined, quality-focused investing; historically, quality prevails over the long term. Additionally, reviewing the Fund's top five holdings could help identify its best picks for 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy highlighted Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL ). Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is a contract research organization that provides drug discovery, development, and safety testing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. On September 18, 2026, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) closed at $278.06 per share. Over the past month, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) declined 6.87%, but its shares are up 80.69% over the past year. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) has a market capitalization of $13.39 billion, and its stock has traded within a 52-week range of $144.26 to $303.31.

Riverwater Sustainable Value Strategy stated the following regarding Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"We sold Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) to fund our buy of Stevanato Group. While the company is making progress on portfolio optimization, we remain cautious about the long term impact of the FDA's New Approach Methodologies on the company's animal testing business in preclinical drug discovery."

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds . As per our database, 47 hedge fund portfolios held Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) at the end of the second quarter, which was 43 in the previous quarter. 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 .