Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Down 7.6% – Here’s Why

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) were down 7.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $20.23 and last traded at $20.06. Approximately 2,867,867 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 4,732,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James decreased their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.46.

Avantor Trading Down 10.1 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.42, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.28.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 7th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. Avantor had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 12.24%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Avantor by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $578,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206,695 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 17,692,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,710,000 after buying an additional 2,719,615 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,150,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,791,000 after buying an additional 739,667 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 7,612,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,397,000 after buying an additional 848,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 653.0% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after buying an additional 5,354,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

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.