Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $23.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.32% from the stock’s previous close.

AVTR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.08.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR opened at $15.21 on Thursday. Avantor has a 12-month low of $13.80 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The company has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a PEG 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $16.80 and its 200 day moving average is $20.47.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in Avantor by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 346,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,972,000 after buying an additional 88,205 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,766,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,228,000 after acquiring an additional 493,408 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter worth about $555,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,922,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,504,000 after acquiring an additional 33,692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,027,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,792,000 after purchasing an additional 74,735 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.