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

Key Points

• Avantor has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", based on 15 covering firms: 2 sell, 10 hold, and 3 buy. The average 12-month price target is about $11.39.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $0.17 versus estimates of $0.16 and revenue of $1.58 billion versus $1.54 billion expected. However, revenue was essentially flat year over year and the firm posted a negative net margin.
• Insiders and institutions remain active, with directors buying shares in recent months and institutional investors owning about 95.08% of the stock. Avantor’s shares were trading around $8.30, near the low end of its 52-week range.

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $11.3929.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVTR. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on Avantor in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th.

Avantor Stock Down 0.2%

AVTR opened at $8.30 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor has a 1-year low of $7.26 and a 1-year high of $15.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.09 and a 200-day moving average of $10.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The business's revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $9.16 per share, for a total transaction of $458,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $458,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $940,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 300,000 shares of company stock worth $2,602,750 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the second quarter worth $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

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.

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