Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.60.

Several research firms have issued reports on AVTR. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Avantor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI set a $12.00 price target on Avantor and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Avantor to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra purchased 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $3,881,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Avantor by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 104,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 8,735 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 56,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after buying an additional 2,788 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 365,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,082 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Avantor by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 219,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 55,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 202,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,323,000 after acquiring an additional 67,677 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

Avantor stock opened at $10.81 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -83.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.93. Avantor has a 12 month low of $10.62 and a 12 month high of $22.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.59 and its 200-day moving average is $12.43.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). Avantor had a positive return on equity of 10.91% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.