Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price Down 6.3% - What's Next?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 6.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.00 and last traded at $15.86. Approximately 3,583,371 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 6,494,626 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AVTR shares. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Remove Ads

Avantor Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50-day moving average is $19.51 and its 200-day moving average is $22.03.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,531,753.87. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,788.12. This represents a 10.78 % 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 99.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Avantor by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

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.