Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AVTR. UBS Group set a $12.00 price objective on Avantor in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Avantor from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Avantor to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.97.

Avantor Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $11.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -88.15, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.68. Avantor has a 52-week low of $10.62 and a 52-week high of $23.32.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 10.91% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Avantor has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.920 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.25 per share, for a total transaction of $1,125,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,375,000. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra bought 350,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.09 per share, for a total transaction of $3,881,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,881,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $708,000. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 65.3% during the third quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 223,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,788,000 after buying an additional 88,241 shares during the period. Voss Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 905.6% during the third quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 4,525,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,472,000 after buying an additional 4,075,000 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at $172,000. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at $787,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.