GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) by 3,491.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,739 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,048 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Avantor were worth $985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,089,001,000 after acquiring an additional 30,727,673 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Avantor by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,969,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,347,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211,418 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $643,227,000 after acquiring an additional 8,936,879 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,037,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,251,000 after acquiring an additional 112,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 18,136,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,131,000 after purchasing an additional 443,501 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of AVTR opened at $13.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.92, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $13.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.34. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $11.82 and a 52 week high of $28.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Avantor from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.50 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.