Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $17.90 and last traded at $18.12, with a volume of 6265783 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.05.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVTR. Barclays reduced their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.92.

Avantor Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.26. The firm has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, 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 current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Avantor by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised 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 buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.