Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Avantor's shares gapped up from a closing price of $11.50 to an opening price of $12.51, with last trading at $12.42 and a trading volume of 3,169,265 shares.
• Analyst ratings have been mixed, with Royal Bank Of Canada lowering its price target to $17.00 while Goldman Sachs cut their rating to "neutral" and price target to $14.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $15.50.
• Avantor reported earnings of $0.24 per share, missing estimates, while quarterly revenue was $1.68 billion, slightly above expectations, but showed a 1.1% decrease from the previous year.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.50, but opened at $12.51. Avantor shares last traded at $12.42, with a volume of 3,169,265 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cowen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen downgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 target price on Avantor and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Down 0.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $13.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the company'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 owned 55,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $627,224.52. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 117,433,484 shares of the company's stock worth $1,580,655,000 after purchasing an additional 17,170,761 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 89.8% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 18,127,204 shares of the company's stock worth $293,842,000 after acquiring an additional 8,578,493 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the second quarter worth approximately $108,167,000. Engine Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the second quarter worth approximately $74,088,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently 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.