Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Lowered to Hold Rating by TD Cowen

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) was downgraded by research analysts at TD Cowen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $15.50 price target on the stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.14% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on AVTR. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cowen cut shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.88.

Avantor Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $12.69 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.81 and its 200 day moving average is $19.59. Avantor has a 1 year low of $12.20 and a 1 year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Joseph R. Massaro purchased 8,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 35,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,967.40. This represents a 30.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Avantor by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Avantor by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Avantor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Avantor by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by 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.