Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target Cut to $22.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $25.00 to $22.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 45.78% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AVTR. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.83.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,585,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,897,442. The company has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.29. Avantor has a 12-month low of $13.80 and a 12-month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor 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 in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Avantor by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,228,000 after acquiring an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at about $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after buying an additional 33,692 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,792,000 after buying an additional 74,735 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avantor by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,018 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avantor

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.