Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) from an underperform rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $13.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AVTR. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Avantor in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Avantor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Avantor in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Avantor Price Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $13.78 on Wednesday. Avantor has a 1 year low of $7.26 and a 1 year high of $15.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.81% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,200. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Avantor by 28.1% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Avantor by 60.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Avantor by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Avantor by 119.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Avantor reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.21, exceeding the $0.19 consensus estimate, while revenue of $1.69 billion also topped expectations. The return of organic growth at its VWR business helped support the improved results and outlook. Avantor Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on VWR Growth, Guidance Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $0.80 to $0.83 and is targeting adjusted net leverage below 3x, signaling confidence in earnings growth and balance-sheet improvement. Avantor outlines 2026 adjusted EPS and leverage targets
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their price targets following the earnings report: Wells Fargo moved to $16 and maintained an overweight rating, Stifel raised its target to $15 with a hold rating, and Morgan Stanley increased its target to $14 with an equal-weight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: From a technical perspective, AVTR’s 50-day moving average has crossed above its 200-day moving average, forming a “golden cross.” This typically signals improving momentum and may attract technical traders. Avantor flashes golden cross signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Avantor from “strong sell” to “hold,” reducing a major negative stance but stopping short of endorsing the shares as a buy.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, revenue grew only 0.5% year over year, prior-year EPS was higher at $0.24, and the company continues to report a negative net margin. Several analyst ratings remain neutral, suggesting that much of the near-term recovery may already be reflected in the stock.

About Avantor

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.