Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AVTR shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Avantor Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $16.34 on Tuesday. Avantor has a twelve month low of $15.37 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.51 and its 200 day moving average is $22.03. The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.