North Star Asset Management Inc. Purchases 20,053 Shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR)

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Avantor, Inc. by 8.5% during the first quarter, owning a total of 256,635 shares valued at approximately $4.16 million.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for Avantor, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "neutral" rating and reducing the target price to $14.00.
• Director Gregory L. Summe purchased 30,000 shares of Avantor stock, representing a 42.86% increase in ownership, indicating insider confidence in the company's future prospects.

North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 256,635 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Avantor were worth $4,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Avantor in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Avantor by 121.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Avantor by 52.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,972 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Avantor by 19.8% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Avantor in the first quarter valued at $112,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Avantor news, Director Gregory L. Summe bought 30,000 shares of Avantor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $12.50 per share, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,250,000. This represents a 42.86% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 75,000 shares of company stock worth $928,000. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Avantor Trading Down 15.4%

Shares of AVTR traded down $2.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.37. 59,921,196 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,521,999. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.82 and a 52 week high of $27.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.56.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Avantor had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Avantor from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Avantor from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Cowen lowered shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Avantor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $15.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Avantor currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.23.

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.