Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $22.00 to $18.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Avantor traded as low as $15.37 and last traded at $15.50, with a volume of 9082310 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.87.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 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 value of $86,019.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 value of $65,877.74. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,615 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 86,225 shares of the company's stock worth $2,231,000 after buying an additional 26,884 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 146.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,628,372 shares of the company's stock worth $67,996,000 after buying an additional 1,562,018 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $260,000. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $19.99 and a 200 day moving average of $22.37.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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.