Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 264,578 Shares of Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 8.7% to approximately $53.37 million, currently holding 3,292,214 shares.
• A notable 52-week range for Avantor stock is between $10.82 and $27.83, with a market cap of $8.80 billion reported.
• Analysts have downgraded Avantor, reducing price targets to as low as $12.00, while the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold."

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,292,214 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 264,578 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Avantor worth $53,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Avantor by 52.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Avantor by 19.8% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in Avantor during the first quarter worth $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AVTR shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Avantor from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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 reduced their price target on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $19.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, August 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total value of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $12.50 per share, with a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Avantor Stock Performance

AVTR stock traded up $0.1550 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.9150. 3,545,595 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,660,088. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.98. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.82 and a 52 week high of $27.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.96.

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