Citigroup Cuts Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target to $9.00

Key Points

• Citigroup cut its Avantor price target from $11 to $9 and kept a "neutral" rating, implying roughly an 11.3% upside from the current share price.
• Q1 results beat estimates—EPS $0.17 vs. $0.16 and revenue $1.58B—which lifted the stock, though management noted flat year‑over‑year revenue and margin pressure in parts of the business.
• Insider buying occurred recently, with two directors purchasing a combined 225,000 shares, increasing their stakes and potentially signaling insider confidence.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by research analysts at Citigroup from $11.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 11.30% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on AVTR. Evercore set a $10.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $10.50 target price on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.39.

Avantor Trading Up 3.0%

Avantor stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $8.09. The company had a trading volume of 14,637,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,048,509. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $8.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.51. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.00. Avantor has a 12-month low of $7.26 and a 12-month high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 10.45% and a negative net margin of 8.09%.The business's quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra purchased 125,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.01 per share, with a total value of $1,001,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 475,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,750. This trade represents a 35.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 100,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $9.40 per share, for a total transaction of $940,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 400,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,000. This trade represents a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 275,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,399,250 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 119.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Avantor by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Avantor in the second quarter worth $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Avantor in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 60.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus: adjusted EPS of $0.17 topped estimates and revenue of $1.58B slightly exceeded expectations; the company reported positive net income, $219M adjusted EBITDA and reaffirmed FY2026 guidance — supports near‑term confidence. Avantor® Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: shares jumped after the Q1 beat and management commentary on improving demand trends, indicating investor focus on recovery in end markets. Avantor shares jump 9 after Q1 earnings beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and call transcript are available for details on segment trends and cost actions — useful for investors who want to dig into guidance and margin drivers. View Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/content coverage: AVTR is featured in retail roundups of inexpensive medical stocks, which can broaden retail interest but is not a fundamental catalyst. 5 Best Medical Stocks to Buy Under $30
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and volume softness: management signaled declining margins and softer volumes in parts of the business; revenue was essentially flat year‑over‑year, and GAAP EPS declined versus prior year — these factors cap near‑term profitability upside. Avantor Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Margins Decline

About Avantor

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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