Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $12.42, but opened at $14.49. Avantor shares last traded at $14.1420, with a volume of 7,846,527 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.02. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AVTR. Barclays lifted their target price on Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $9.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. UBS Group set a $8.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avantor from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.62.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,200. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,500. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Avantor by 104.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,302,000 after buying an additional 104,022 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 40.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 5,075 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Avantor by 40.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after acquiring an additional 11,543 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Avantor during the second quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Avantor by 214.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 124,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 84,679 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor Company Profile

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.