Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Avantor from “hold” to “buy,” adding to a mixed analyst backdrop where the broader consensus remains Hold with a $11.39 average price target.
• Avantor reported better-than-expected quarterly results, earning $0.17 per share versus $0.16 expected and generating $1.58 billion in revenue, also ahead of estimates.
• Insider buying has been notable, with directors Simon Dingemans and Sanjeev K. Mehra purchasing shares recently; insiders bought 300,000 shares in the last quarter overall.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $10.50 price target on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.39.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $8.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor has a twelve month low of $7.26 and a twelve month high of $15.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $8.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. Avantor's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, Director Simon Dingemans acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,500. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra acquired 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 475,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,750. The trade was a 35.71% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 300,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,602,750. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the company's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Avantor by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Avantor by 28.1% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,123 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Avantor by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 38,977 shares of the company's stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 14,347 shares of the company's stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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