Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Avient (NYSE:AVNT) Stock Price

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) had its price target decreased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $51.00 to $41.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 5.11% from the stock’s previous close.

AVNT has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Avient from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Avient from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Baird R W raised shares of Avient to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Avient in a research note on Friday, March 14th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Avient from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Avient has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.80.

Avient Stock Up 6.0%

NYSE:AVNT traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $39.01. The stock had a trading volume of 125,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,569. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.38. Avient has a 1-year low of $27.86 and a 1-year high of $54.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.01. Avient had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $826.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $834.90 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. Avient’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Avient will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Avient by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Avient by 85.8% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 520 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Avient by 57.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Avient by 2,450.0% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,479 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avient during the first quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 95.48% of the company’s stock.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks.