Two Sigma Investments LP Decreases Stock Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Two Sigma Investments LP cut its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 46.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,302 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,319 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP’s holdings in Avantor were worth $343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 188,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Avantor by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 138,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Avantor by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in shares of Avantor by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 82,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,767,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AVTR opened at $13.68 on Wednesday. Avantor, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.82 and a 12-month high of $28.00. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.58.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,250,000. This represents a 42.86% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro purchased 8,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,967.40. This represents a 30.07% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 83,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,630. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Cowen lowered Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.88.

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.