Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Citigroup from $22.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

AVTR has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVTR traded up $0.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.75. The company had a trading volume of 7,605,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,941,737. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. Avantor has a 12 month low of $15.37 and a 12 month high of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (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 previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,001,000 after acquiring an additional 30,727,673 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company's stock worth $643,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936,879 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 58.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company's stock worth $578,666,000 after purchasing an additional 8,206,695 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $142,512,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 653.0% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company's stock worth $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,678 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.