Avantor, Inc. $AVTR Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. by 9.4%, now owning 223,080 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million.
• Insider activity included Director Gregory L. Summe purchasing 30,000 shares at $12.50 each, increasing his position by 42.86%, while the CAO sold 3,476 shares at an average price of $11.39.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Avantor, with price targets ranging from $13.00 to $16.00, and an overall average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $15.50.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,080 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,254 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Avantor were worth $3,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Avantor by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the company's stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 7,048 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its position in Avantor by 85.5% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,135 shares of the company's stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 5,133 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Avantor by 33.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,746 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 7,227 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Avantor by 121.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Finally, Manhattan West Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Avantor during the first quarter worth approximately $1,534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen lowered Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Avantor from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Avantor from $15.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Avantor has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

Insider Activity at Avantor

In other news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR traded down $0.0450 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $13.2250. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,798,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,265,482. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.96. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.82 and a 1-year high of $27.83.

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

Avantor 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.