Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $16.75 and last traded at $17.04, with a volume of 884754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.22.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target (down from $29.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.92.

Avantor Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.69 and a 200-day moving average of $22.79.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVTR. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in Avantor by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,089,001,000 after buying an additional 30,727,673 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $643,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,936,879 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 58.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,368,244 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,666,000 after acquiring an additional 8,206,695 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Avantor during the 4th quarter worth about $142,512,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Avantor by 653.0% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,174,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,740,000 after purchasing an additional 5,354,678 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Company Profile

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.