Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Stock Price

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $27.00 to $25.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.76% from the stock’s current price.

AVTR has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Avantor from $33.00 to $31.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Avantor from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Avantor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.15.

Avantor Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE AVTR opened at $18.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.28. Avantor has a 1-year low of $18.19 and a 1-year high of $28.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.44.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.01. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.24% and a net margin of 4.54%. 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 will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 99.5% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 106.3% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. acquired a new stake in Avantor during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 76.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.