Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $15.10 and last traded at $15.17, with a volume of 3051682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Avantor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Up 11.6 %

The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.74. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

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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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Avantor by 44.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $643,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936,879 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at about $142,512,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Avantor by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,158,175 shares of the company's stock worth $192,963,000 after buying an additional 2,983,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,145,825 shares of the company's stock worth $171,633,000 after buying an additional 2,473,395 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.