Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 451,794 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Avantor stake by 81.1% in the third quarter, selling 451,794 shares and retaining 105,077 shares valued at approximately $1.58 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.08% of Avantor.
• Avantor shares opened at $17.16, near their 52-week high of $17.45, with the stock’s market capitalization at approximately $11.61 billion. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $0.21 EPS and $1.69 billion in revenue.
• Analysts remain cautious: Avantor has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $13.06, compared with the current share price.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 105,077 shares of the company's stock after selling 451,794 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 2nd quarter worth $695,784,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth $195,386,000. Engine Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Avantor by 65.8% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 19,780,830 shares of the company's stock worth $155,082,000 after acquiring an additional 7,853,018 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Avantor by 15.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 16,894,649 shares of the company's stock worth $132,443,000 after purchasing an additional 2,288,053 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor during the second quarter worth $108,795,000. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE AVTR opened at $17.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $7.26 and a 1-year high of $17.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $15.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.68. The company has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.94.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.92% and a negative net margin of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Avantor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.800-0.830 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVTR. Barclays lifted their price target on Avantor from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Avantor in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Avantor in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $10.50 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Avantor from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.06.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc is a global provider of mission-critical products and services used in the life sciences, healthcare, education, and advanced technology industries. The company supplies chemicals, reagents, laboratory consumables, equipment, and other materials used in research, development, manufacturing, and quality-control activities.

Avantor also provides specialized solutions for biopharmaceutical production, including materials and services that support drug development, biologics manufacturing, and other bioprocessing applications.

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