Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Bumped Down to "Hold" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Avantor from “Buy” to “Hold.” Overall analyst sentiment is also “Hold,” with 15 Hold, two Buy, and one Sell rating, alongside a consensus price target of $12.47.
• Avantor reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $0.21, exceeding the $0.19 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.69 billion versus expectations of $1.61 billion.
• The stock opened at $15.35, near its 52-week high of $16.05, and institutional investors own a substantial 95.08% of outstanding shares.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Avantor from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $13.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Avantor from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.47.

Avantor Stock Performance

Avantor stock opened at $15.35 on Friday. Avantor has a fifty-two week low of $7.26 and a fifty-two week high of $16.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $14.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.84.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 8.81%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the second quarter worth about $695,784,000. Engine Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 19,780,830 shares of the company's stock worth $155,082,000 after acquiring an additional 7,853,018 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avantor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $195,386,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,894,649 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,443,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,105,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,104,000 after acquiring an additional 84,740 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc is a global provider of products, services and solutions used in the life sciences and advanced technology industries. The company supplies materials and equipment that support research, drug discovery and development, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical and diagnostic activities, and other laboratory applications.

Its offerings include laboratory chemicals and reagents, consumables, single-use manufacturing technologies, bioprocessing products, equipment, and related services.

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