Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Avantor (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 11,478 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 390% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,341 put options.

Avantor Price Performance

Avantor stock opened at $20.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Avantor has a 52-week low of $17.91 and a 52-week high of $26.26.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 5.89%. Avantor’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Avantor from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Avantor from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Avantor from $26.00 to $24.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Avantor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 7,577 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.64, for a total value of $156,389.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,779.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 7,577 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.64, for a total value of $156,389.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 28,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $581,779.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Frederic Vanderhaegen sold 25,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.47, for a total transaction of $536,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 160,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,450,980.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Avantor by 4.5% in the second quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 11,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in shares of Avantor by 1.3% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 36,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 5.1% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 10,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Avantor by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 67,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Avantor by 13.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. 89.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips.