Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Citigroup from $22.00 to $18.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 14.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AVTR. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (down previously from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.50.

Avantor Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $15.75 on Tuesday. Avantor has a 1-year low of $15.37 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $20.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.47.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 3,758 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total value of $65,877.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,531,753.87. The trade was a 4.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 4,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.53, for a total transaction of $86,019.71. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $711,788.12. This trade represents a 10.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 69.6% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.