Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $17.33 and last traded at $17.2950, with a volume of 11,633,887 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AVTR shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Avantor from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Avantor from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Avantor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 11th. Two equities 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.06.

Avantor Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.62.

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

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Avantor in the second quarter valued at $695,784,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth $195,386,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth $108,795,000. Engine Capital Management LP grew its stake in Avantor by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 19,780,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,082,000 after purchasing an additional 7,853,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth $56,577,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Company Profile

Avantor, Inc is a global provider of mission-critical products and services used in the life sciences, healthcare, education, and advanced technology industries. The company supplies chemicals, reagents, laboratory consumables, equipment, and other materials used in research, development, manufacturing, and quality-control activities.

Avantor also provides specialized solutions for biopharmaceutical production, including materials and services that support drug development, biologics manufacturing, and other bioprocessing applications.