Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Avantor's share price increased from $13.27 to $13.96 before trading on Monday, indicating a positive market reaction despite the stock last trading at $13.26.
• Several analysts have adjusted their target prices for Avantor, with the average rating currently being "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.24 per share, missing expectations by $0.01, and experienced a 1.1% revenue decline year-over-year.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $13.27, but opened at $13.96. Avantor shares last traded at $13.26, with a volume of 1,005,532 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 price target on shares of Avantor and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.50.

Avantor Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $13.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.28.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total transaction of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 55,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $627,224.52. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 17.1% during the second quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 117,433,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,580,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,170,761 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 89.8% during the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 18,127,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,842,000 after purchasing an additional 8,578,493 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the second quarter valued at $108,167,000. Engine Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Avantor in the second quarter worth about $74,088,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Avantor by 53.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,034,699 shares of the company's stock worth $227,502,000 after acquiring an additional 4,876,524 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.