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

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 27,800,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the April 30th total of 34,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 11,520,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR traded up $0.20 on Tuesday, hitting $13.16. 22,966,911 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,031,589. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $14.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.85. Avantor has a twelve month low of $11.82 and a twelve month high of $28.00. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.23. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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%. Avantor's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.22 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avantor will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.00 per share, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $600,000. This trade represents a 100.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro purchased 8,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.30 per share, for a total transaction of $99,630.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders acquired 83,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,630 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Avantor by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,001,000 after acquiring an additional 30,727,673 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in shares of Avantor by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 30,528,092 shares of the company's stock worth $643,227,000 after purchasing an additional 8,936,879 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 89.8% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 18,127,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,842,000 after purchasing an additional 8,578,493 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor in the 4th quarter valued at $142,512,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Avantor by 53.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,034,699 shares of the company's stock worth $227,502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,876,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AVTR. Morgan Stanley cut Avantor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Avantor from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Cowen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.88.

Avantor Company Profile

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.