Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,940,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the December 31st total of 8,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,090,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.
Avantor Stock Down 2.4 %
Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $23.52 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Avantor has a fifty-two week low of $17.91 and a fifty-two week high of $38.83. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.11. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.36.
Avantor (NYSE:AVTR – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 28th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.01. Avantor had a net margin of 8.38% and a return on equity of 24.67%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Avantor
In other news, CFO Thomas A. Szlosek acquired 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $20.71 per share, with a total value of $258,875.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 35,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,684.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael Stubblefield bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.95 per share, with a total value of $314,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,998,025. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thomas A. Szlosek bought 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $20.71 per share, with a total value of $258,875.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 35,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,684.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Avantor
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Avantor by 3.8% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 86,156,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,679,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,164,276 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 1.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,250,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,205 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Avantor by 43.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 12,708,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,233,000 after acquiring an additional 3,854,096 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Avantor by 3.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,258,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,276,000 after acquiring an additional 447,744 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 135.4% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 9,956,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,155,000 after acquiring an additional 5,727,841 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.80% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have weighed in on AVTR. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Avantor from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $32.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 31st. Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Avantor to $26.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Avantor from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.67.
About Avantor
Avantor, Inc is a provider of mission critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, and advanced technologies and applied materials industries. It sells materials, equipment, instrumentation, and offers specialty procurement. The firm operates through the following segments: the Americas, Europe, and AMEA.