Bank of Nova Scotia Has $326,000 Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Avantor stake by 67% in the first quarter, selling 84,322 shares and retaining 41,600 shares valued at approximately $326,000. Institutional investors collectively own 95.08% of the company.
• Avantor exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.21 adjusted EPS versus $0.19 expected and $1.69 billion in revenue versus $1.61 billion forecast. Management raised its FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $0.80–$0.83, although year-over-year sales growth remained modest and EPS declined from the prior-year period.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $12 price target. Recent targets range from $7 to $16, while Avantor shares opened at $13.82 and have traded between $7.26 and $15.93 over the past year.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 67.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 84,322 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Avantor were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at $268,584,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,468,418 shares of the company's stock worth $200,188,000 after acquiring an additional 11,216,565 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth about $73,322,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 122.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,495,095 shares of the company's stock worth $100,884,000 after acquiring an additional 4,119,522 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Avantor by 10,725.4% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,540,650 shares of the company's stock worth $47,657,000 after buying an additional 3,507,943 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Avantor to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Avantor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Avantor Price Performance

AVTR opened at $13.82 on Friday. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.26 and a 12-month high of $15.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.45, a PEG ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 8.81%.Avantor's revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat expectations. Avantor reported adjusted EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.19 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.692 billion versus expectations of $1.61 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was $254.3 million, operating cash flow was $178.2 million and free cash flow was $142.8 million. Avantor Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year 2026 guidance. Avantor now expects adjusted EPS of $0.80-$0.83, above the prior consensus estimate of $0.79, and increased its organic revenue outlook. The company also continues targeting adjusted net leverage below 3x, supporting the deleveraging narrative. Avantor 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: VWR showed signs of recovery. The VWR segment returned to organic growth earlier than expected, while segment execution and strategic initiatives helped support the guidance increase. The earnings beat initially drove a gap higher in AVTR shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets. Wells Fargo raised its target to $16 and maintained an overweight rating, while Stifel increased its target to $15 and Morgan Stanley raised its target to $14, although both retained neutral ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth remains modest. Second-quarter sales increased just 0.5% year over year, while organic revenue declined 0.4%, indicating that the recovery is still uneven.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability comparisons weakened. Adjusted EPS declined from $0.24 a year earlier, and Avantor reported a $0.06 GAAP EPS result alongside a negative net margin. Jefferies upgraded the stock only to hold with a $13 target, suggesting limited upside after the recent rally.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Avantor 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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