Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Raised to Hold at Royal Bank Of Canada

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) was upgraded by research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

AVTR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 target price on Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore set a $10.00 price objective on Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.82.

Avantor Stock Down 3.8%

AVTR opened at $7.64 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $7.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.43, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.94. Avantor has a one year low of $7.26 and a one year high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.Avantor’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 210,000 shares of company stock worth $1,745,950 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Avantor by 119.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Avantor by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Avantor during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Avantor by 60.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avantor Company Profile

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.