Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Down 3.7% After Analyst Downgrade

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)’s stock price dropped 3.7% during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating. The stock traded as low as $12.72 and last traded at $12.45. Approximately 2,368,168 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 7,104,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.93.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday. Cowen cut shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro acquired 8,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,967.40. The trade was a 30.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Avantor during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 121.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $15.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

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.