Stifel Nicolaus Raises Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) Price Target to $15.00

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $8.00 to $15.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.40% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Avantor from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research lowered Avantor to an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avantor has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.76.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of Avantor stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.84. 7,962,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,809,225. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.41. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor has a 1 year low of $7.26 and a 1 year high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.42% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. Avantor’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,456,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,156,000 after acquiring an additional 823,572 shares during the last quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Avantor by 6,891.9% in the 4th quarter. Brickwood Asset Management LLP now owns 3,184,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,489,000 after purchasing an additional 3,138,504 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Avantor by 209.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 401,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 272,093 shares during the period. Agman Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,915,000. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 131,186 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates. Avantor reported adjusted EPS of $0.21, ahead of the $0.19 consensus, while sales of $1.692 billion surpassed expectations of $1.61 billion. Revenue increased 0.5% year over year, and operating cash flow was $178.2 million, with free cash flow of $142.8 million. Avantor Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised above consensus. Avantor now expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.80 to $0.83, compared with analysts’ estimate of $0.79. The company also said it increased its organic revenue-growth guidance. Avantor Beats Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $14 to $16 and maintained an “overweight” rating. The action signals increased confidence in Avantor’s earnings outlook and supports the post-earnings rally.
• Positive Sentiment: Shares gapped higher following the results. The stock opened substantially above its prior close, reflecting strong initial investor reaction to the earnings beat. Avantor Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies upgraded Avantor from “underperform” to “hold,” but assigned a $13 price target, below recent trading levels. This represents improved sentiment but limited near-term upside in its valuation view.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying growth remains subdued. Organic revenue declined 0.4%, and adjusted EPS fell from $0.24 a year earlier to $0.21. GAAP net margin remained negative at 8.42%, which could temper enthusiasm over the results.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market volatility is a risk. A sharp oil-price spike tied to escalating U.S.-Iran tensions pressured major equity indexes, potentially limiting gains in AVTR despite company-specific strength. Oil Surge and Market Selloff

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.