Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AVTR. UBS Group set a $8.00 price objective on Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Avantor from $10.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $10.50 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

Avantor Stock Down 3.9%

AVTR stock opened at $13.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a PE ratio of -16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.14 and a 200-day moving average of $9.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.78. Avantor has a one year low of $7.26 and a one year high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.81% and a positive return on equity of 9.92%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Avantor will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVTR. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,456,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,156,000 after purchasing an additional 823,572 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 6,891.9% during the 4th quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP now owns 3,184,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,504 shares during the last quarter. Agman Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter worth about $3,915,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,612,000 after buying an additional 131,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sector Gamma AS grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 695,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,969,000 after buying an additional 218,299 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings and revenue beat expectations. Avantor reported adjusted EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.19 consensus estimate and revenue of $1.692 billion versus expectations of $1.61 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was $254.3 million, operating cash flow was $178.2 million and free cash flow was $142.8 million. Avantor Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised full-year 2026 guidance. Avantor now expects adjusted EPS of $0.80-$0.83, above the prior consensus estimate of $0.79, and increased its organic revenue outlook. The company also continues targeting adjusted net leverage below 3x, supporting the deleveraging narrative. Avantor 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: VWR showed signs of recovery. The VWR segment returned to organic growth earlier than expected, while segment execution and strategic initiatives helped support the guidance increase. The earnings beat initially drove a gap higher in AVTR shares.
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts lifted price targets. Wells Fargo raised its target to $16 and maintained an overweight rating, while Stifel increased its target to $15 and Morgan Stanley raised its target to $14, although both retained neutral ratings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Growth remains modest. Second-quarter sales increased just 0.5% year over year, while organic revenue declined 0.4%, indicating that the recovery is still uneven.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability comparisons weakened. Adjusted EPS declined from $0.24 a year earlier, and Avantor reported a $0.06 GAAP EPS result alongside a negative net margin. Jefferies upgraded the stock only to hold with a $13 target, suggesting limited upside after the recent rally.

About Avantor

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.