Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Sets New 52-Week Low on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Avantor's share price dropped to a new 52-week low of $11.60 after reporting disappointing earnings, missing earnings per share estimates by $0.01.
• Analysts reacted negatively, with several firms downgrading their ratings and significantly cutting target prices for the stock, now averaging $18.23.
• Insider purchases are notable, with Director Gregory L. Summe acquiring 30,000 shares, indicating confidence in the company's future despite recent performance.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $11.80 and last traded at $11.60, with a volume of 293826 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $13.44.

The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Avantor had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 11.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AVTR. Barclays dropped their target price on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. TD Cowen cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Avantor from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.23.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. This represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 75,000 shares of company stock worth $928,000. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Avantor by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. American Trust raised its position in Avantor by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 15,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in Avantor by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 82,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Avantor by 9.0% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Avantor by 19.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 15.5%

The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.56.

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.

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