Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Gets Price Target Increase from Morgan Stanley

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $14.00 to $15.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential downside of 2.94% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AVTR. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Avantor from $8.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Avantor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Avantor from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Avantor from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.24.

Avantor Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $15.46. 670,633 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,052,489. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $14.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Avantor has a fifty-two week low of $7.26 and a fifty-two week high of $16.38. The firm has a market cap of $10.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.41, a PEG ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 8.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 59.7% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 28,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 10,644 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 9.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 51,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 72.3% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Avantor in the third quarter valued at about $1,810,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Avantor by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 14,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,090 shares during the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc is a global provider of products, services and solutions used in the life sciences and advanced technology industries. The company supplies materials and equipment that support research, drug discovery and development, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical and diagnostic activities, and other laboratory applications.

Its offerings include laboratory chemicals and reagents, consumables, single-use manufacturing technologies, bioprocessing products, equipment, and related services.