Stifel Nicolaus Has Lowered Expectations for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price trimmed by Stifel Nicolaus from $28.00 to $26.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Avantor from $29.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.15.

Avantor Trading Down 1.8 %

Avantor stock opened at $18.06 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $21.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.39. 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 one year low of $18.00 and a one year high of $28.00. The stock has a market cap of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 39.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 4.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Avantor during the fourth quarter worth about $13,368,000. Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in Avantor by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 9,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Avantor by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,232,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,227,000 after purchasing an additional 81,541 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Avantor by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,150,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,250,000 after purchasing an additional 17,598 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Avantor by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,891,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,063,000 after purchasing an additional 640,881 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.