Avantor Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 25,142 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,067% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,155 call options.

Avantor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVTR opened at $10.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of -13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.41. Avantor has a 12 month low of $7.26 and a 12 month high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Avantor will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avantor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Avantor to an “underperform” rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, June 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $10.50 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Avantor from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $8.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon Dingemans bought 25,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 104,022 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Avantor by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Avantor by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 40,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 11,543 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Avantor in the 2nd quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Avantor by 214.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 124,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 84,679 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.