AVTR - Following solid earnings beat Stifel upgrades Avantor to outperform

Stifel is upgrading shares of Avantor (AVTR) from hold to buy and boosting its price target from $33 to $40 following the company's strong earnings beat yesterday.Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of $0.35 beat by $0.07 and revenue of $1.79B, a year-over-year increase of nearly 18%, beat by $90M."The company's organic growth trajectory is improving, margins are expanding, and shares are not overly expensive," writes analyst Daniel Arias.Avantor's organic growth of 13.5% in the quarter was above Street estimates of ~8%, and margins were up 300 basis points year-over-year.Arias notes that Avantor should benefit from COVID-19 tailwinds in the form of vaccine support.Seeking Alpha contributor Zach Bristow of Zecca Capital Partners is bullish on the stock and sees a price target of $56.50."Avantor shares continue to present a compelling investment case given industry growth levers and the company's insulated business mode," he writes in a recent commentary.Avantor shares are down 1.8% to $32.46 in morning

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Following solid earnings beat, Stifel upgrades Avantor to outperform