Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target Lowered to $16.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company lowered Avantor's price target to $16.00, down from $19.00, but maintains an "overweight" rating on the stock, indicating a potential upside of 40.82%.
• Other analysts, including Goldman Sachs and Stifel Nicolaus, have also reduced their ratings and price targets for Avantor, with Goldman Sachs adjusting its target from $23.00 to $14.00.
• Insiders have shown confidence, with Director Gregory L. Summe acquiring 30,000 shares at an average cost of $12.50 per share, increasing his position significantly.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $19.00 to $16.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target indicates a potential upside of 40.82% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on AVTR. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $16.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, April 28th. Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.05.

Avantor Stock Up 0.0%

AVTR traded up $0.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $11.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,493,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,466,416. Avantor has a 1-year low of $10.82 and a 1-year high of $27.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.37 and a 200-day moving average of $15.39.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $375,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. The trade was a 42.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased a total of 75,000 shares of company stock valued at $928,000 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Avantor by 288.4% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,701 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Avantor by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

About Avantor

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.

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