Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price Down 6.3% – Should You Sell?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) traded down 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.00 and last traded at $15.86. 3,583,371 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 6,494,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $19.83 and a 200-day moving average of $22.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Avantor by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Avantor by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.