King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 412.5%, acquiring an additional 66,000 shares, bringing its total holdings to 82,000 shares worth approximately $1.33 million.
• Avantor recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.24 per share, missing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $1.68 billion, showing a 1.1% decrease year-over-year.
• Analyst ratings for Avantor varied, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from "buy" to "neutral" and setting a new price target of $14.00, while the consensus rating remains "Hold" with a target price of $15.50.

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 412.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Avantor were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AVTR. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in Avantor by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 99,145,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,089,001,000 after buying an additional 30,727,673 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Avantor by 1.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,952,926 shares of the company's stock worth $1,052,887,000 after purchasing an additional 983,172 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Avantor by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 21,037,089 shares of the company's stock worth $443,251,000 after purchasing an additional 112,644 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Avantor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 18,136,206 shares of the company's stock worth $382,131,000 after acquiring an additional 443,501 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Avantor by 19.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,669,411 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Avantor

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe acquired 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. This trade represents a 42.86% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total transaction of $39,591.64. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 target price on shares of Avantor and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Avantor presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AVTR traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.91. The stock had a trading volume of 8,953,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,708,081. Avantor, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.82 and a 1-year high of $27.83. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $13.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.86. The company has a market cap of $8.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. Avantor's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share 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.