Avantor Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:AVTR)

Key Points

• 94,708 put options were bought on Friday — about a 1,582% jump vs. average daily put volume — indicating unusually heavy bearish/options hedging activity in AVTR.
• Two directors recently bought stock: Gregory T. Lucier purchased 50,000 shares at $9.16 and Gregory L. Summe bought 100,000 shares at $9.40, showing notable insider accumulation amid market weakness.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-negative — Zacks placed AVTR on a Strong Sell ranking and Barclays reaffirmed an underweight/$8.50 target — while the stock trades around $8.21, near its one‑year low.

Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 94,708 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,582% compared to the average daily volume of 5,630 put options.

Key Headlines Impacting Avantor

Here are the key news stories impacting Avantor this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Yahoo Finance published a wider look at how analysts are resetting fair-value targets for Avantor, noting a shifting narrative as some firms trim models and targets — useful context but not an isolated catalyst. How The Avantor (AVTR) Story Is Shifting As Analysts Reset Fair Value Targets
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $8.50 price target — essentially in line with the current price, which limits near-term upside and signals continued cautious sentiment from a major bank. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research slashed numerous quarterly and full‑year EPS estimates across FY2026–FY2028 and placed AVTR on its Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) list — a broad downgrade that pressures sentiment, reduces analyst-derived fair value, and increases selling risk. Their note cuts Q1–Q4 estimates and lowers FY2026/FY2027 forecasts substantially. New Strong Sell Stocks for March 5th

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory T. Lucier bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $9.16 per share, with a total value of $458,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $458,000. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $9.40 per share, with a total value of $940,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 400,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,760,000. The trade was a 33.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Avantor

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Avantor by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Avantor by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Avantor by 28.1% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,123 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Avantor by 2.5% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 38,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Avantor by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded down $0.31 on Friday, hitting $8.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,346,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,380,359. The stock has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Avantor has a 1 year low of $8.15 and a 1 year high of $18.02.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.01. Avantor had a negative net margin of 8.09% and a positive return on equity of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Avantor's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.770-0.830 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Avantor will post 1.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AVTR. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on Avantor in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $8.50 price objective on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Avantor from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $10.00 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 price objective on 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.80.

Avantor Company Profile

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.

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