Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Rating Lowered by Evercore ISI

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) was downgraded by research analysts at Evercore ISI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America lowered Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Avantor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $12.00 target price (down from $14.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Avantor to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group set a $12.00 price target on Avantor in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.83.

Avantor Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $11.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $12.63. Avantor has a 52-week low of $10.62 and a 52-week high of $23.32. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -91.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). Avantor had a negative net margin of 1.25% and a positive return on equity of 10.91%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.920 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $1,125,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,375,000. This trade represents a 50.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra bought 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.09 per share, with a total value of $3,881,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,881,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voss Capital LP bought a new stake in Avantor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,057,000. Tredje AP fonden raised its stake in Avantor by 110.7% in the second quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 110,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 58,304 shares in the last quarter. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor in the third quarter worth approximately $1,248,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 1,741.4% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 73,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 69,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Avantor by 71.4% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 102,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 42,700 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.