Sector Gamma AS Has $7.97 Million Holdings in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS boosted its Avantor stake by 45.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 218,299 shares and bringing its total holdings to 695,403 shares worth about $7.97 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased positions in Avantor, and 95.08% of the stock is now held by institutions and hedge funds, indicating broad professional ownership.
• Avantor recently reported quarterly results that beat earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts remain cautious overall with an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $10.57.

Sector Gamma AS raised its holdings in shares of Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) by 45.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 695,403 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 218,299 shares during the quarter. Avantor comprises 1.8% of Sector Gamma AS's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sector Gamma AS owned approximately 0.10% of Avantor worth $7,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,344,100 shares of the company's stock worth $15,403,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,443,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,545,000 after purchasing an additional 518,445 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 2,456,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,156,000 after purchasing an additional 823,572 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Avantor by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 18,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Avantor in the fourth quarter valued at $115,000. 95.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AVTR. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $11.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $10.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Avantor from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 target price on Avantor in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $10.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregory T. Lucier purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $8.32 per share, for a total transaction of $83,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 60,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $499,200. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Simon Dingemans purchased 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $8.14 per share, for a total transaction of $203,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,500. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Avantor Price Performance

Shares of AVTR stock opened at $9.68 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $8.34 and its 200-day moving average is $9.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of -11.94, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.97. Avantor, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.26 and a 52 week high of $15.93.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for 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%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Avantor, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avantor Company 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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