Avantor, Inc. $AVTR Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC significantly reduced its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 87.0%, now holding 112,752 shares worth approximately $1.83 million.
• Avantor reported $1.68 billion in revenue for the last quarter, which was slightly above the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion, but the company missed earnings expectations with $0.24 EPS.
• Stocks of Avantor have been rated with an average "Hold" rating by analysts, with a revised price target of $15.50 reflecting a cautious outlook.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC reduced its position in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 87.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,752 shares of the company's stock after selling 753,999 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC's holdings in Avantor were worth $1,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVTR. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Avantor in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 121.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the period. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Avantor in the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Avantor by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the period. 95.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Cowen cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen cut Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Avantor from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Performance

NYSE AVTR traded down $0.10 on Wednesday, reaching $12.88. The stock had a trading volume of 8,553,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,388,048. 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 12-month low of $10.82 and a 12-month high of $27.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $13.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.96.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Avantor had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. Avantor's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Avantor news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.39, for a total value of $39,591.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 55,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,224.52. The trade was a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 insiders.

Avantor 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.