Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 29,290,000 shares, an increase of 6.6% from the March 15th total of 27,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In related news, EVP James Bramwell sold 6,203 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total value of $151,911.47. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 101,143 shares in the company, valued at $2,476,992.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avantor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Avantor by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in shares of Avantor by 565.5% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Avantor by 815.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE AVTR opened at $24.38 on Thursday. Avantor has a fifty-two week low of $16.63 and a fifty-two week high of $26.16. The stock has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.89 and a 200-day moving average of $22.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.03. Avantor had a return on equity of 14.11% and a net margin of 4.61%. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Avantor from $22.50 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Avantor from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Avantor from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Avantor from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.50.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the 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.