Citigroup Cuts Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target to $18.00

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price lowered by Citigroup from $22.00 to $18.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AVTR. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.50.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE:AVTR opened at $16.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.42. Avantor has a 12-month low of $15.37 and a 12-month high of $28.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released 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 10.49% and a return on equity of 12.17%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. Research analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 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 $86,019.71. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. The trade was a 10.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $426,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,712,000. American Trust grew its position in shares of Avantor by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 15,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Avantor by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 43,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 10,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $417,000. 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.