Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to Strong Sell Rating

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wolfe Research to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AVTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $10.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.57.

Avantor Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Avantor stock opened at $9.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor has a 52-week low of $7.26 and a 52-week high of $15.93. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.24, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.97.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 160,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,287,950. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Avantor by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,067,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,382,320 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in Avantor by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 418,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 74,728 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 80,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.