Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's target price suggests a potential upside of 70.98% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Avantor from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.15.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.13. 3,754,691 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,347,450. The business's 50 day moving average price is $21.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.54. Avantor has a 1-year low of $17.90 and a 1-year high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 12.24%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Avantor by 41.4% in the 4th 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 period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 58.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company's stock worth $578,666,000 after buying an additional 8,206,695 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter valued at $142,512,000. 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 valued at $159,740,000 after buying an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in Avantor by 557.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,675,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,950,000 after buying an additional 3,963,912 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.