Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $23.00 to $18.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Avantor traded as low as $13.80 and last traded at $15.93, with a volume of 15171297 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.28.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares in the company, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock worth $2,089,001,000 after acquiring an additional 30,727,673 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth $142,512,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 48.3% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,158,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $192,963,000 after buying an additional 2,983,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,145,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,633,000 after buying an additional 2,473,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 2.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $16.67 and a 200-day moving average of $20.36.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share 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.