AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 610,773 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 285.4%, acquiring 610,773 additional shares, bringing their total to 824,762 shares, valued at approximately $13.2 million.
• Avantor's stock recently opened at $12.87, has experienced a 12-month low of $10.82 and a high of $27.83, with a market cap of $8.77 billion.
• Analyst ratings on Avantor have seen price targets recently cut by multiple firms, with Evercore ISI lowering their target from $18 to $16 while maintaining an "outperform" rating.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 285.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 824,762 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 610,773 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.12% of Avantor worth $13,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 7,048 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Avantor by 85.5% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,135 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Avantor by 33.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,746 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Avantor by 121.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in Avantor by 37.5% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 120,169 shares of the company's stock worth $1,948,000 after acquiring an additional 32,777 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total value of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,224.52. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on AVTR shares. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $13.00 price target (down previously from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Avantor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 price objective on Avantor and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NYSE:AVTR traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $12.33. 6,193,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,920,702. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.82 and a 52 week high of $27.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $13.96. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). Avantor had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Avantor's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.