Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $23.27, but opened at $22.65. Avantor shares last traded at $22.60, with a volume of 1,533,775 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $30.00 to $23.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Avantor from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Avantor from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $34.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Avantor Stock Down 3.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.30. The company has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 57.64, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.33.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Avantor had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 12.40%. On average, analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,525 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.06, for a total value of $88,336.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 29,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,372.64. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 3.8% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 11,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Avantor by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 29,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 514 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Avantor by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 186,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,955,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Veracity Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 1.0% during the third quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 52,359 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 2.8% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

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.