Robert W. Baird Boosts Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target to $18.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird has increased its price target for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) from $17.00 to $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.81% from the current stock price.
• Other firms, including Barclays and TD Cowen, have downgraded their ratings and price targets for Avantor, with Barclays setting a target of $15.00.
• Insiders, including Director Joseph R. Massaro, have recently increased their holdings in the company, with Massaro acquiring 8,100 shares in a transaction valued at approximately $99,630.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $17.00 to $18.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective indicates a potential upside of 26.81% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on AVTR. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.23.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $14.20 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Avantor has a 52-week low of $11.82 and a 52-week high of $28.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $13.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.70. The firm has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.05.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Avantor had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph R. Massaro bought 8,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 35,038 shares in the company, valued at $430,967.40. This trade represents a 30.07% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,000. This represents a 42.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 83,100 shares of company stock worth $1,027,630 in the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 288.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Avantor by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Avantor by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

About Avantor

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.