Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at TD Cowen

TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $15.50 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AVTR. Cowen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.88.

Avantor Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE AVTR traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $12.99. 13,765,834 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,338,975. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor has a 52-week low of $12.20 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Avantor's revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro acquired 8,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares in the company, valued at $430,967.40. This represents a 30.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,586,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Avantor in the 3rd quarter valued at $21,365,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Avantor by 146.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,996,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562,018 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at $555,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Avantor by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 29,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.