Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Avantor shares reached a new 52-week high of $17.33, trading 4.1% higher with nearly 11.6 million shares exchanged.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $13.06, below its current trading level.
• Avantor exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.21 EPS and $1.69 billion in revenue, while institutional investors—including BlackRock and Bank of America—built significant positions; institutions and hedge funds own 95.08% of the shares.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $17.33 and last traded at $17.2950, with a volume of 11,633,887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Avantor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Avantor from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $13.06.

Avantor Stock Up 4.1%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.08 and a 200-day moving average of $11.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.81% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Avantor's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $695,784,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $195,386,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $108,795,000. Engine Capital Management LP raised its position in Avantor by 65.8% in the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 19,780,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,853,018 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Avantor in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,577,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc is a global provider of mission-critical products and services used in the life sciences, healthcare, education, and advanced technology industries. The company supplies chemicals, reagents, laboratory consumables, equipment, and other materials used in research, development, manufacturing, and quality-control activities.

Avantor also provides specialized solutions for biopharmaceutical production, including materials and services that support drug development, biologics manufacturing, and other bioprocessing applications.

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