Engine Capital Management LP Has $155.08 Million Stock Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Engine Capital Management increased its Avantor stake by 65.8% in the first quarter, acquiring 7.85 million additional shares. Its 19.78 million shares are worth about $155.1 million and represent 18.7% of its portfolio.
• Avantor reported quarterly EPS of $0.17, beating estimates by $0.01, while revenue of $1.58 billion also exceeded expectations. The stock opened at $11.79, up 3.1%, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.05 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: two analysts rate Avantor a Buy, 12 rate it Hold and three rate it Sell, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $10.62.

Engine Capital Management LP increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 65.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,780,830 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,853,018 shares during the period. Avantor comprises approximately 18.7% of Engine Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Engine Capital Management LP owned about 2.90% of Avantor worth $155,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,769 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Avantor during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Avantor by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Avantor Stock Up 3.1%

AVTR opened at $11.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $9.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Avantor, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.26 and a 12 month high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $10.50 price target on shares of Avantor in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Avantor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Avantor in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $10.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Avantor from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $10.62.

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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