Balefire LLC Increases Holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Balefire LLC increased its holdings in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 50.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,379 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,612 shares during the period. Avantor accounts for 1.3% of Balefire LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Balefire LLC's holdings in Avantor were worth $3,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Avantor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 76.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 121.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 52.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. 95.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AVTR shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Avantor from $21.00 to $17.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $18.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,000. The trade was a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Joseph R. Massaro bought 8,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought 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 owns 35,038 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,967.40. This trade represents a 30.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 83,100 shares of company stock valued at $1,027,630 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AVTR traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.55. 12,777,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,352,554. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.04. Avantor, Inc. has a 1 year low of $11.82 and a 1 year high of $28.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.23 and a 200 day moving average of $16.90.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23. Avantor had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.