Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes Position in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,620,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,490,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.53% of Avantor as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Avantor by 104.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 203,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 104,022 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 40.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Avantor by 2.7% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Avantor by 29.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 12,750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Avantor by 40.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 11,543 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In related news, Director Gregory T. Lucier acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $9.16 per share, with a total value of $458,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $458,000. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjeev K. Mehra bought 125,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $8.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 475,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,750. The trade was a 35.71% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have purchased 275,000 shares of company stock worth $2,399,250 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Avantor Trading Down 0.7%

AVTR opened at $7.68 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.38 and a 52 week high of $16.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.36. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 10.45% and a negative net margin of 8.09%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.770-0.830 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AVTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 price target on Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore set a $10.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Avantor from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.80.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc (NYSE:AVTR) is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor’s offerings are organized across two primary segments.