Clearline Capital LP Acquires Shares of 502,683 Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Clearline Capital LP initiated a new position in Avantor, buying 502,683 shares worth about $5.76 million in the fourth quarter and holding roughly 0.07% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes, while hedge funds and other institutions collectively own 95.08% of Avantor’s stock.
• Insiders were buying shares too: directors Gregory T. Lucier and Simon Dingemans purchased stock in May, even as Avantor’s shares traded down and analysts maintained a generally cautious outlook with a “Reduce” consensus rating.

Clearline Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 502,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,761,000. Clearline Capital LP owned about 0.07% of Avantor at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Avantor by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Avantor by 28.1% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 4,123 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Avantor by 60.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Avantor by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 7,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Avantor by 119.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $8.32 per share, with a total value of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 60,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $499,200. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $8.14 per share, with a total value of $203,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Avantor Stock Down 1.2%

Avantor stock opened at $9.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of -11.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76. Avantor, Inc. has a one year low of $7.26 and a one year high of $15.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.48 and a 200 day moving average of $9.57.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Avantor had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 8.42%.Avantor's revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVTR shares. Wolfe Research cut Avantor to an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research raised Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Avantor from $11.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on Avantor from $8.50 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.57.

Avantor Profile

Avantor, Inc NYSE: AVTR is a global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education & government, and advanced technologies & applied materials industries. The company delivers essential solutions that support research, development, production and safety applications. Its product portfolio spans from high-purity chemicals and reagents to biologics and cell culture media, as well as lab equipment, consumables and custom manufacturing services.

Avantor's offerings are organized across two primary segments.

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