Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,040,000 shares, an increase of 71.1% from the October 15th total of 16,970,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Insider Activity at Avantor

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Avantor

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 162.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Avantor by 815.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in Avantor by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 2,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. purchased a new position in Avantor during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. 89.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVTR. Bank of America decreased their price target on Avantor from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Avantor from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 31st. William Blair cut Avantor from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Raymond James decreased their target price on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Avantor from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Avantor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.05.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $18.61 on Tuesday. Avantor has a one year low of $16.63 and a one year high of $25.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $20.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.60 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.31.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Avantor had a net margin of 5.18% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Avantor will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

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.