Strs Ohio Invests $8.11 Million in Avantor, Inc. $AVTR

Key Points

• Strs Ohio recently invested approximately $8.11 million in Avantor, Inc. by purchasing 500,000 shares during the first quarter, representing about 0.07% ownership of the company.
• Analysts have varied perspectives on Avantor's stock, with the average rating being "Hold" and a recent average target price of $15.50, while some analysts cut their price objectives.
• Avantor's stock has seen a decline of 5.2%, currently trading at $12.33, while the company reported earnings that were below estimates with a net margin of 10.31%.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Avantor, Inc. (NYSE:AVTR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 500,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,105,000. Strs Ohio owned about 0.07% of Avantor at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Avantor by 59.6% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 7,048 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Avantor by 85.5% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 5,133 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 28.0% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 6,262,052 shares of the company's stock worth $101,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370,577 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 14.5% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,380,688 shares of the company's stock worth $22,381,000 after acquiring an additional 174,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Avantor by 33.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,746 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 7,227 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Avantor in a report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Avantor from $18.00 to $15.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial set a $14.00 price objective on Avantor and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $13.00 target price (down from $15.00) on shares of Avantor in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Avantor from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.50.

Avantor Stock Down 5.2%

AVTR stock opened at $12.33 on Monday. Avantor, Inc. has a twelve month low of $10.82 and a twelve month high of $27.83. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 10.31%.The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Avantor, Inc. will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Steven W. Eck sold 3,476 shares of Avantor 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 55,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $627,224.52. This trade represents a 5.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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